Baba Suwe’s family, Islamic clerics fight over casket, burial

As the remains of the late Nollywood actor Babtunde Omidina embark on its final journey, the family of the late actor and Islamic clerics conducting the funeral are at loggerheads.

While the family and well-wishers went about the procession in a way that befitted a celebrity on Thursday morning, the clerics wanted everything to be Islamic.

Officiating Sheikh Ahamad Olanrewaju Alfulanny said the normal practice is to bury a dead person within few hours of his death.

He told the Nation Islam doesn’t recognize celebrities.

“There are so many things that they are doing, that are un-Islamic, they put his body in a casket, some other well-wishers even said they want to take his body round,” he said.

However, the two camps might have made some compromises.

“The family has told us they won’t bury him with his body inside the casket.”

That decision hurts Baba Suwe’s fans, though.