A report by PRNigeria has revealed that the embattled Kaduna State-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Khalifa Sani Abdulkadir, who was declared missing by his family weeks ago, is alive and being held in “protective custody” by federal security forces over an alleged N2 million paid into his account by a coup suspect.
A top intelligence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, confirmed this to PRNigeria, a credible online news platform.
The source said the cleric is currently being investigated by a joint team of the Armed Force of Nigeria (AFN) and the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged complicity in a thwarted coup plot against the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The investigation centres on a financial trail discovered in the scholar’s bank account.
According to the intelligence source, the arrest was triggered by a transfer of about ₦2 million from a military officer currently fingered as a key suspect in the alleged transition sabotage.
The source said: “Sheikh Khalifa is alive and healthy in protective custody.
“His arrest followed the discovery of funds in his bank account transferred from one of the suspected military officers involved in the attempted coup.”
However, sources close to the cleric’s family offer a different perspective, describing the transaction as a routine “spiritual offering”.
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They claim the soldier obtained the Sheikh’s account number through a student and sent the money with a request for “prayers and blessings”, a common practice among religious followers in Northern Nigeria.
“There was no political discussion, no criminal intention, and nothing beyond a request for prayers,” a family source maintained.
The disappearance of the respected scholar in early 2026 sparked national controversy after he traveled to Abuja to resolve the sudden, unexplained freezing of his bank account, only for his family to lose all contact with him.
PRNigeria has gathered that the legal battle for his release is already at an advanced stage.
His Fundamental Rights Suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/55/2026, has been heard twice at the Federal High Court in Abuja: on February 18, 2026 and March 13, 2026.
The presiding judge has adjourned the matter to April 10, 2026 for final judgment.
The intelligence source insisted that the cleric would remain in custody until the investigative cycle is fully closed.
“He would soon be arraigned in court for prosecution after the completion of the investigation alongside others,” the official added.
Sheikh Abdulkadir is a highly regarded figure in Kaduna State’s religious circles.
His continued detention without formal charges has heightened tensions among his followers who view the ₦2 million transfer as a poor pretext for the incarceration of a prominent spiritual leader.
