The Muslim Community of Oyo State (MUCOYS) has condemned the recent attack on a muslim woman wearing a veil, popularly referred to as Niqobite, in Ibadan, the state capital.
The Niqobite, or Eleha as widely known in Yoruba, Shukuroh Olapade, was attacked on Wednesday May 21, 2025, and stripped naked by the attackers, according to MUCOYS.
In a statement released on Saturday, signed by the association’s Chairman, Kunle Sanni, and Secretary, Murisiku Siyanbade, described the attack as barbaric and a breach of the dignity.
“Attack on a Muslim sister, Hajia Shukuroh Olapade on Wednesday 21st May, 2025, adorning Niqab, in line with the regulations of Islam, is an orchestrated plan by enemies of Islam, to unleash a crisis, where there is none. That was a very barbaric action. How can someone just imagine in his head that a woman is walking like a man and immediately suspect the person behind the clothes is a kidnapper?
“As if we were still in the stone age, the woman was savagely and crudely stripped naked. A very serious breach of the dignity of woman-hood. After discovering that the person attacked was a woman, they still went on with the attack. So barbaric! It is a known fact, the knack for some anti-Islam body/ies to clandestinely stoke crisis and go for cover. When Muslims now react, they then go for the kill. They ignite tension through the instrumentality of the Press and the court of public opinion. The Muslims are then perceived as the law-breakers. We know their strategy. They had employed such an approach before, It will never work again,” MUCOYS wrote in the statement.
The organization, making reference to a recent event that occurred at Ijora, Lagos, described the event as “islamiphobia of the highest order. The Muslim Community is in the vanguard for a peaceful society where harmonious and religious co-existence. When Muslims now start defending ‘Elehas’ that are attacked in such a manner and there is counter reprisal, they then place the blame at the doorstep of Muslims.”
“Let us remember the recent brouhaha against the inauguration of a Shari’ah Arbitration Panel in Oyo town. A Panel that has existed in Kishi, Saki and Ibadan, in some cases, since over thirty years ago, and which is just for arbitration between willing Muslims, who only subject themselves to the laws of Islam, to a mere panel that has no power of enforcement.
“It is unfathomable how this affects non-Muslims. This attack on Muslim women in Niqab (Eleha) could be another ploy to whip public opinion against anything Islam, linking it to the erstwhile misunderstanding of the Shari’ah Arbitration Panel. Why is it that some non-Muslim groups and organisations in Yorubabaland just find it difficult to come to the realisation that Islam will survive and we shall co-exist. Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: They wish to extinguish Allah’s light with their mouths, but Allah will certainly perfect His light, even to the dismay of disbelievers.”
The organization then called on security agencies to identify the perpetrators; unravel their grand plan, and nip the crisis in the bud.
“We equally urge the Christian Association of Nigerian (CAN), to refrain from being deployed as an instrument towards attaining this nefarious intent to cause a major religious disharmony.
“Allah says in the Holy Qur’an: “Your faith directs you to one way and mine, to another” – Q109:6. Thus, on issues of faith, we have different systems. On social and co-existential issues, we can work together. However, we should refrain from allowing societal devils from infiltrating our ranks to cause evil. Therefore, the searchlight for averting the crisis being orchestrated, should also be beamed to the doorsteps of CAN, in order to ensure we are not chasing shadows,” the statement added.
