Crisis Rock Islamic School

Crisis rocking an Islamic school Madrasatu Ulumid-Dinil Islamy in Obalende has degenerated to a legal battle.

One of the Directors and shareholders of the school Mallam Muh’s Salisu Hussain Tahir has dragged the school and two other directors of the school, Alhaji Saminu Ibrahim Khalil and Alhaji Muh’saminu Aliya before a Federal High Court in Lagos.

In an affidavit, Tahir averred that Madrasatu Ulumid-Sinil school is a limited liability company, jointly formed by three shareholders in the following shares ratio: Alhaji Saminu 200,000, Hussain Tahir 150,000, Saminu Aliyu 150,000.

The plaintiff alleged further that the school was initially an Arabic school when he joined as a teacher in 1988 under the headship of Abubakar Musa, who was then the principal.

The Arabic school was jointly founded by the Hausa community at Obalende-Ikoyi, Lagos in 1977 but he eventually became the principal of the school in 1991.

The committee set up to manage the school was helpless as there was no fund. Consequently part of the teachers salaries were unpaid from 2005-2006 which amounted to a deficit of N762,550.

Mallam Tahir averred further that he has taught many students that had made him and Nigeria proud by winning laurels in international Quaranic competition in Egypt.

However, he alleged, some people led by the defendants started fomenting trouble in the school and eventually terminated his appointment under the guise of indiscipline and mismanaging of funds.

The plaintiff is now urging the court to declare the termination of his appointment illegal, null and void.

In their joint counter affidavit, the defendants, while urging the court to dismiss the suit as being mischievous, vexatious, averred that nearly all the depositions of the plaintiff are false.

The defendants alleged that the plaintiff demanded N500,000 and misled some people to incorporate another entity out of the school. The incorporation was not known until February 2011 when it was discovered that the plaintiff had included two strange names as directors who are not known to them.

When the appointment of the plaintiff was terminated, he refused to leave the school and decided to lock up the office, thereby crippling the smooth running of the school.

The Sarkin Hausawa of Obalende intervened, and when the plaintiff ignored the advice of the chief, he then complained to the Area “A” Police Command Lion Building and State Security Services as a result of which the plaintiff is being prosecuted at a Lagos Magistrate’s Court, Kakawa.

The defendants urged the court to dismiss the suit.

—Akin Kuponiyi