A heated feud has erupted between two prominent Islamic clerics, Sheikh Muhammed Habibullah Adam (El-Ilory), leader of Markaz Islamic School in Agege, Lagos, and Sheikh Sulaimon Farooq Onikijipa, over allegations of diabolical attacks and longstanding personal grievances.
Speaking at the 2025 Ramadan Tafseer Programme, Sheikh Habibullah accused Onikijipa of orchestrating his mysterious illness in 2022 through supernatural means. He alleged that his rival planted an unknown object in his pocket during a wedding ceremony in Ilorin, which he believes led to his sudden health crisis.
While not directly naming Onikijipa, Habibullah referred to him as “the person” throughout his speech, claiming that the Kwara-based cleric had long harbored resentment against his late father for not recognizing his lineage in an Islamic publication.
“He is upset that my father did not include his father’s name in the list of noble clerics. But the real question is—who is his father?” Adam said, questioning Onikijipa’s legitimacy as an heir to the Onikijipa lineage.
Adam narrated how his illness started after an encounter with Onikijipa and how he was later rushed to a hospital in Ilorin. He also alleged that his rival later sought to retrieve an item he had secretly placed in his pocket.
However, Sheikh Onikijipa has strongly denied the allegations. Speaking in Ilorin, he swore on the Quran, calling upon divine punishment if he was guilty of causing Adam’s illness.
“This is the Quran, and we are in the month of Ramadan. If I have anything to do with his illness, may the curses of this book be upon me. But if I am innocent, let the curses be upon those falsely accusing me,” Onikijipa declared.
Despite denying involvement in the alleged attack, Onikijipa did not respond to Adam’s claims of superiority and his family lineage.
The escalating rift has divided the Muslim community, with supporters of both clerics taking sides in what has become one of the most talked-about controversies in Nigeria’s Islamic circles.
