By Emmanuel Oluwadola

Claim: Multiple social media accounts claim that a strange man tried to kill the Chief Imam of Akure with a knife while he was leading prayers.

Full Text

Alhaji AbdulHakeem Yayi-Akorede, the Chief Imam of Akure, is a respected figure in the Akure Muslim community. He is well known for his spiritual leadership and support for charitable initiatives.

During the 2025 Eid-el-Fitr celebration, which marks the end of the Ramadan fast, Yayi-Akorede delivered a sermon at the Akure prayer ground where he warned young Islamic clerics against engaging in money rituals, cautioning that such acts could provoke divine punishment.

Meanwhile, on 5 April 2025, a user on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter) shared a video with the claim that an unidentified man tried to stab the Chief Imam of Akure while he was praying. The post included the caption: “A strange man tried to kill the Chief Imam of Akure with a 🔪 while praying, luckily the 🔪 didn’t penetrate. Ma dira 😂.”(sic).

The twenty-one second (0:21) footage also has two watermarked captions, including, “Today nah Alfa Sheikh Labeeb birthday.”(sic) And,  “Akure Chief imam wey come pray for Sheikh Lab£eb, $trange man try to ki|| the imam but the kπi√e no £nter imam bod¥”.(sic)

As of 8 April 2025, the post had garnered 661,000 views, 3,554 likes, 572 reposts, 69 quotes, and 884 bookmarks.

The reactions under the post were mixed. Some users believed the claim. For instance, @StackedSam commented, “Wow! Allah always save his own by making sure they have okigbe.”(sic) @Shegzedon remarked, “One major reason why security in the country is very important”(sic)

The claim can also be found on other social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X (Twitter).

Given the relevance of the claim to public discourse, we conducted this fact-check.

Verification

A Google keyword search showed that the video first appeared on a Facebook page on 29 June 2023, suggesting that the event occurred in Senegal.

The clearer footage was found on a Facebook page, Islam TalkRadio, captioned, “Just In: Unknown person attempts to assassinate Senegalese Imam. An unknown person attempts to assassinate Senegalese Imam, Serigne Balla Mbacke during Eid prayers in Bari Ndongol village in The Fatick region.”

Screenshot of the video on Facebook in 2023

Similar reports that the incident occured in Senegal were found on Facebook and YouTube. We also found it on The Voice Gambia Newspaper online platform and CityMirror News, among others.

Further checks showed that the Office of the Grand Imam of Akure Kingdom published a disclaimer on its official Facebook page. The post clarified that the individual in the viral video was not the Grand Chief Imam of Akure and cautioned the public against sharing false information.

Screenshot of the Facebook page of the Office of the Grand Imam of Akure Kingdom debunking the claim

Conclusion

The claim that a strange man attempted to stab the Chief Imam of Akure with a knife while leading a prayer is false. The video in circulation was originally recorded in Senegal in 2023 and depicts an incident involving a Senegalese Imam, not Alhaji AbdulHakeem Yayi-Akorede. Furthermore, the Office of the Grand Imam of Akure Kingdom has publicly debunked the claim on its official Facebook page.