29/03/2026
PRESS RELEASE
POLICE ARREST MINOR AT NATIONAL MOSQUE ABUJA, OVER POSSESSION OF KHAMENEI’S PHOTOGRAPH
Our attention has been drawn to the arrest of a 16-year-old boy, Bakir Ishak, by the FCT Police in Abuja. Reliable information available to us indicates that Bakir Ishak was arrested around 3:00pm on Friday 13 March 2026 within the premises of the National Mosque Abuja for holding a photograph of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The public may recall that on Friday 13 March 2026, adherents of the Islamic movement, under the leadership of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky, held the 2026 International Quds Day procession at the National Mosque, Abuja shortly after Jumu’at prayers. The procession, which attracted hundreds of participants, focused on condemning the ongoing atrocities being committed by Israel against the Palestinian people and reiterating our call for the freedom and liberation of Palestine. The event ended peacefully.
Reports indicate that after the procession Police arrested Bakir Ishak for holding the picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and he was taken to Wuse Zone 3 Police Station and subsequently transferred to the SARS facility in Guzape, Abuja. Furthermore, in an apparent attempt to intimidate and demoralize him, the FCT Police Command transferred his case to the Command’s “Scorpion Squad,” a unit primarily established to combat kidnapping, armed robbery, and car theft. For more than two weeks the police denied Bakir access to his lawyer and family.
We wish to place on record that Bakir Ishak was arrested alive and in good health. Therefore, any harm that may befall him while in custody, we are going to squarely hold Tunji Rilwan Disu, the Acting Inspector General of Police, and Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, Attorney General of the Federation responsible.
We also wish to draw attention to a similar case involving Yahuza Haruna, who was arrested by the FCT Police on 7 May 2021 during a Quds Day procession in Abuja and has reportedly remained in detention despite a valid court order for his release. On 24 July 2025, Hon. Justice Obiora Atuegwu Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja Division, declared the detention of Yahuza Haruna unlawful and ordered his unconditional release, alongside the payment of ₦1,000,000 as compensation. Regrettably, this judgment has yet to be complied with.
In light of the foregoing:
* We strongly condemn the arrest and continued detention of Bakir Ishak and Yahuza Haruna.
* We demand their immediate and unconditional release.
* We have directed our legal team to initiate a fundamental rights enforcement action at the Federal High Court regarding the unlawful arrest and detention of Bakir Ishak.
* We have also directed our legal team to commence contempt proceedings against Tunji Rilwan Disu, the Acting Inspector General of Police for non-compliance with the court order concerning Yahuza Haruna.
Sheikh Sidi Munir Mainasara Sokoto, for the Islamic movement under the leadership of His Eminence Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky
29 March 2026