Muslim Leaders In Kaduna Cancel Congregational Sallah Prayers Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Ahead of this Saturday’s Eid ul Fitr celebration, Muslim leaders in Kaduna state have agreed to cancel all congregational prayers as part of measures to curb the spread of the novel Coronavirus in the state.

The clerics met with the state governor, Nasir El-Rufai today May 19 were they notified him of their decision.

Speaking to newsmen after the meeting, Sheik Ahmed Gumi who spoke on behalf of all other clerics, said Muslims in the state are to pray in their homes on Sallah day. According to the cleric, allowing people to the mosque on Saturday will jeopardize all the gains the state government has made in its fight against COVID-19.

”Our Nation is not like Saudi Arabia where we can say maybe just 50 people can come out and pray. Once you allow people to come out, then they are going to troop out in thousands that you cannot control them. We have stayed for two months on Lockdown.

We are afraid that one single day will come and spoil all the gains we have made because Kaduna is one of the states that has the least infection rates.

You could see deaths in hundreds in all the core Northern states from Sokoto, Katsina, Kano, Yobe, but because Kaduna had gone into lockdown earlier than all these states, we have little infection rates than the other states” he said

NCDC data shows that Kaduna state currently has 145 confirmed cases of COVID-19.