The Muslim community has been thrown into controversy following a startling accusation by Sheikh Muhammed Adam (El-Ilory), the Mudir leader of the prominent Islamic institution, Markaz Centre for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Agege, Lagos.
During the 2025 Ramadan Tafseer Programme, Adam alleged that Sheikh Sulaimon Farooq, widely known as Onikijipa, orchestrated his recent illness through supernatural means.
Tafseer, derived from the Arabic term fasara, refers to the interpretation and commentary on the Quran, providing clarity on divine instructions.
Addressing his congregation, the Markaz leader emphasized that his lectures typically address issues rather than individuals, but this year’s discourse would shed light on his long-standing discord with Onikijipa.
Origins of the Feud
Adam traced their conflict to an old grievance harboured by Onikijipa. According to him, the Kwara-based cleric had accused his late father, Sheikh Adam, of deliberately omitting his own father’s name from a list of esteemed Islamic scholars mentioned in one of his books.
Recounting their academic history, Adam asserted his seniority over Onikijipa, stating, “I had finished an advanced class, gone to Kano State to learn more, and returned to Markaz for lecturing after my father insisted that I stay before Sulaimon Farooq resumed Sanawi’yah Idadi (elementary) class. Who am I fighting with? How can he be saying Sheikh Adam (my father) offended him? The offence is that my father listed all the noble Islamic clerics in one of his books and refused to mention his father.”
He further questioned Onikijipa’s lineage, claiming that his father was not a true heir to the Onikijipa family name.
“Who’s even his father? His father is not the heir of the Onikijipa lineage. The people who reside in the compound of the Onikijipa lineage are the original and worthy ones to be referred to as Onikijipa. That’s their tradition in Ilorin. One Alfa Alabi Onikijipa is the recognized heir of the Onikijipa lineage. He’s one of the first students of Sheikh Taju Al-Adaby,” Adam asserted.
Although Adam refrained from mentioning Onikijipa’s name directly during the Tafseer, he assured his audience that he would explain the circumstances leading to his illness.
Instead of naming him outright, he referred to the cleric as “the person” and “he” throughout his narration.
According to Adam, he first noticed signs of the alleged spiritual attack in 2022. He recounted an incident during a visit to Ilorin for a wedding ceremony at Imam Fulani’s residence, where he encountered a peculiar occurrence.
“I am starting a discussion on this to vindicate Imam Fulani, who was framed for my sickness. Although I have been advised not to speak on the matter, I insisted. The sickness happened to me in 2022. Two months before it happened, I went to Ilorin for a wedding ceremony at Imam Fulani’s house. I wanted to go pay homage to the Kwara governor alongside Imam when he came. We were at Mudir Makama’s place when he met us, and one of his boys used a handkerchief to rub my neck. He collected the handkerchief from him before the clerics finally collected it from him.”
He detailed a second encounter at another wedding, where he was invited to speak but suddenly fell ill.
“The second month, I travelled to Belgore’s house for a wedding. I was invited to speak, and honestly, nothing happened to me before I got there. When I got to the event with some other clerics who followed me from Lagos, he had already gotten there before me. He was sitting on the right-hand side of the chair that was allotted to me and was pretending to be welcoming me when I appeared. As we sat, he had already put something in my pocket. Although I didn’t know what it was and we never agreed that he should, because I was putting on ‘Agbada’, I didn’t notice on time.
“When it was time to begin the lecture that I was invited for, I greeted the people present there and I lost it on the spot. My speech became distorted. Thereafter, some clerics came to my aid. So I ordered that the marriage continue while I observed. Baba Oladimeji Igbaja was noticing me and was praying for my well-being. So one of Belgore’s children conveyed me to a private hospital and was eventually taken to the Ilorin General Hospital. I couldn’t talk neither did I lose my consciousness.”
Claims of Spiritual Manipulation
Adam rejected speculations that he had suffered a stroke and accused Onikijipa of trying to retrieve an object he had secretly placed in his pocket.
“He told my PA that he should help him retrieve the item he threw in my pocket. When he took the content out, it happened to be two gourds. So the clerics that followed me suggested that he should be given the gourds because he claimed that they were for protection, and he must slaughter an animal to appease it after usage.
“He left with them. He also noticed that I was still conscious despite not being able to speak. He then returned and brought other items that would be used to touch my head. So, my son disagreed with him. He was now telling the cleric that was with me that I was paralysed. Although they questioned his submission.”
Adam identified three clerics, Dr. Olaoti, Alfa Haroon Rosheed, and Alhaji Yusuf Hamrah—whom Onikijipa allegedly told that he was paralyzed.
Reacting to the accusations in Ilorin, Onikijipa strongly denied any involvement in Adam’s illness and took an oath with the Quran to assert his innocence.
“This is the Quran and we are in the month of Ramadan. We have not broken our fast and we are in the house of God. Since, I began my life, I have not sworn with the holy book but I will do this time.
“God, I’m in your house, if I, Sulaimon Farooq, the son of Aminat, know anything about Mudir Markaz’s illness, let the curses in this holy book be mine. I repeat it four times to show my innocence. But if I don’t, and they are framing me up across the world, let the curses be upon them,” he declared.
Notably, the mufti chose not to respond to Adam’s claims about superiority in scholarship and lineage.
Both clerics are highly respected figures in Islamic circles across the Southwest and parts of northern Nigeria, making the controversy a significant topic of discussion within the Muslim community.
