‘How Albani was killed in my presence’

For Malam Bello Nakaka, the sporadic gunshots that enveloped the car Sheikh Albani was driving sounded to him like a rainfall. He described his escape as a miracle as the intention of the assassins was to kill all the occupants of the car. Up till now, Nakaka could not come to terms with the expertise […]

For Malam Bello Nakaka, the sporadic gunshots that enveloped the car Sheikh Albani was driving sounded to him like a rainfall. He described his escape as a miracle as the intention of the assassins was to kill all the occupants of the car. Up till now, Nakaka could not come to terms with the expertise of the killers, days after the murder of the revered cleric.
According to Nakaka, a student of the late cleric, the people that killed Sheikh Albani rode on a motorcycle and were wearing suits and boots, just like actors that play the role of assassins in foreign films.
“When we left Markazus-salafiyya where Malam (Sheikh Albani) had a lesson from the book of Bukhari, he made a stopover at a shop in Central Store and did some shopping. On arriving at a speed bump after we branched off from the main Gaskiya Road on our way home, two people on a motorcycle quickly overtook our car and the person at the back seat of the motorcycle opened fire directly on Malam.
“Malam made attempt to dodge the bullet and from there, from what I can remember, there were sounds of gunshots from all angles. The nature and the sound of the gunshots turned out to be like rainfall. When they stopped the shooting, I felt like the rain has stopped. It was a terrible experience. It was an evil act done expertly,” Nakaka said.
Continuing, he said: “They shot Malam in different parts of his body. He made effort himself to come down from the car but he couldn’t stand because of the several bullets on his body and the blood that was flowing. Malam fell down. I and Abdulwaheed, one of Sheikh Albani’s sons in the car, lifted him up from the ground and began calling for help. Nobody was coming to our aid until one youngster came with a car and took us to the hospital.”
On the personality of the attackers, Nakaka said he didn’t see the face of anyone of them but he noticed their attires.
“Honestly, I didn’t see any car. All I saw were those people on a motorcycle. They were wearing suits and boots. Because my attention was on Malam, I didn’t even know that some people have died on the spot. It was later that I was told that some people [the cleric’s wife and son] have lost their lives. This is all I can recall,” Nakaka explained.
Weekly Trust gathered that there were nine people in the Hyundai bus which Sheikh Albani was driving. The occupants were his wife, who was killed with him, his children, and two of his students. One of his sons in the car, Abdullahi, was also killed with him.
A resident of the neighbourhood where the murder took place, who preferred anonymity, told Weekly Trust “When the killers left the scene of the attack, we summoned courage to come out from our house when his children that were left in the car kept shouting Baba, Baba. We felt that we have to come out to assist them, at least to evacuate them from the scene. And that was what we did.
“This incident is unfortunate. His [Albani’s] children watched helplessly while the assassins killed their father. What touched my mind that will be very difficult to forget was the way the children reacted to the murder of the Sheikh. It was really an emotional scene which showed that the man was very close to his children. We pray to Allah to accept his martyrdom and grant him, his wife and son Jannatul Firdaus,” the neighbour said.
Meanwhile, scholars in Zaria and other parts of the country have continued to react to the murder of Sheikh Albani. The Council of Islamic clerics in Zazzau Emirate, at their quarterly meeting which took place at the palace of the Emir of Zazzau on Thursday, offered special prayer for the late cleric. They also called for unity among Muslims in order to address their various challenges.
Weekly Trust reports that normal activities have since returned at the Sheikh Albani’s school, Daaru Hadiths-salafiyya. The students of the late cleric, acting on the recommendation of the Albani Science Academy Board of Trustees, have appointed Dr. Abdulganiyu Abdurrafi’u as the new Director of the school.
“Malam Muhammad Kabir (Asgar), Malam Awwal Mai Shago and Malam Musa Minshawi would continue with all the lessons that Malam (Sheikh Albani) usually conduct at the school and other places. They are all students of Daarul Hadiths. The killers have killed Malam but cannot kill what he has taught us. We would continue from where he stopped. Unfortunately for Malam’s killers, during his lifetime he led the struggle virtually alone but now about five people are going to continue from where he stopped,” Dr. Abdurrafi’u told Weekly Trust.