Sheikh Musa Lukuwa (also rendered Lukwa in some reports) on Thursday led congregants in Eid al-Fitr prayers at his Mabera mosque, defying a national directive from Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III that set Friday as the official day of Sallah.
Lukuwa conducted the two-unit Eid prayer at about 9:10 a.m., hours after the Sultan announced that the Shawwal crescent had not been sighted anywhere in Nigeria and that Muslims should extend Ramadan by one day.
In a message shared on social media, the cleric said his decision was informed by confirmed moon sightings in neighbouring Niger Republic. “Niger Republic is very close to us — about 100 kilometres away. If we accept reports from cities like Kano or even Lagos, which are farther away, there is no reason to reject confirmed sightings from a neighbouring country,” he said, adding that his action was guided by religious conviction and not intended to undermine the Sultan’s authority.
Lukuwa told worshippers around midnight to assemble for Thursday’s Eid prayers. He referenced historical practice, recalling the era of Abubakar Mahmoud Gummi when prominent scholars independently announced moon sightings, before the responsibility was centralised under the Sultan to promote unity among Nigerian Muslims.
The Sultan of Sokoto, who serves as President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), is the recognised national authority for declaring the start and end of Ramadan based on verified moon sightings. His pronouncements are widely observed to maintain unity across the country.
Differences over moon sightings — particularly when reports originate from neighbouring countries — have occasionally produced divergent observances among some clerics and communities, especially in northern Nigeria. This is not the first time Lukuwa and his followers have observed Eid on a day at variance with the Sultan’s declaration, reflecting an ongoing jurisprudential debate over cross-border acceptance of moon sightings.
Photo: Sheikh Musa Lukuwa leading Eid prayers at Mabera mosque, Sokoto. Credit: Animasahun Salman.
