The Spokesperson to the Chief Imam, Sheikh Armiyawo Shaibu, has provided an explanation for the suspension of burial, in accordance with Islamic tradition and customs, for the two Muslims among the eight individuals who tragically died in the fatal helicopter crash.
Speaking on JoyNews on Friday, August 8, 2025, Shaibu justified the suspension, explaining that the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the two individuals, specifically, the explosion caused by the impact of the crash, which charred their bodies, made it nearly impossible to determine their identities.
He said that, to avoid a case of mistaken identity, they decided to allow experts to determine the identities of the deceased victims in order to link them to their rightful families. "… In this particular case, we will look at the circumstance under which these two Muslims died, the state of the body, and what is required in order to be able to establish the true and authentic identity of the two so, that we don't do what we call mistaken identity and give one particular body to a different family to which it does not belong.
So, it makes sense that while we apply the Islamic rule of flexibility, which in Islam, there's a principle, that is necessity can make what is prohibited permissible," he said.
