Anbariya Sunni leader Sheikh Saeed Abubakari passes on
Tamale: Sheikh Saeed Abubakari Zakaria, leader of the Anbariya Sunni Muslim Community and head of the Anbariya Islamic Institute in Tamale has died.
He passed away on Monday, September 7, 2026 in Accra while embarking on a planned medical evacuation to the Emirates.
His death marks an end to a 19-year reign as the figure head of the Anbariya Sunni Community.
He was a prominent Islamic scholar who devoted decades to Islamic education, preaching and the provision of spiritual and moral guidance to the Anbariya Muslim community.
Former Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in a condolence message, described the late Sheikh Saeed as “a towering figure in Islamic scholarship in Ghana.”
“Yesterday, I received the sad news of the passing of Sheikh Saeed Abubakari, the leader of the Anbariya Sunni Community in Tamale,” Dr Bawumia said.
Dr Bawumia described him as “an erudite scholar in the Islamic sciences”, noting that he championed the pursuit of knowledge and led the transformation of the Anbariya Institute into a centre of excellence.
“Indeed, to Allah we belong, and indeed, to Him we will return,” Dr Bawumia said, expressing his condolences to the family of Sheikh Saeed and the Anbariya community.
“May Allah grant him Jannah,” he added.
Haruna Iddrisu, the Minister of Education in a tribute described the leader as “the most illustrous Islamic leader of our time”.
As a sign of respect, the minister asked well wishers to mark his birthday which coincided with the mourning of the religious leader with sobriety and solemnity.
“As I mark 56 years of Allah’s goodness and uncommon blessings upon my life today, I do so with a heavy and reflective heart. Sadly, it’s going to be a day of mourning” he said.
The late Sheikh Saeed, popularly known by his spiritual name Afa Seidu, succeeded his father, Sheikh Yussif Sualih Ajura, popularly known as Afa Ajura, as the spiritual leader of the Anbariya Sunni Muslim Community following the latter’s death in December 2004.
The Anbarriya leadership, after extensive consultations unanimously elected Sheikh Saeed as the leader of the community on June 11, 2007.
He was outdoored at a ceremony on June 23, 2007 where he called for unity and understanding among Muslims, saying they had a common destiny and must work together to promote peace.
He pledged to continue the development agenda initiated by his father and appealed to members of the Anbariya community to cooperate with him.
Sheikh Saeed was among the pioneers of the Anbariya Islamic Institute, established by Afa Ajura in 1951 to provide Islamic education to Muslim children.
He later travelled to Saudi Arabia in the 1970s on scholarship to pursue higher Islamic education at the Islamic University of Madinah.
After completing his studies, he returned to the Anbariya Institute in 1985 to teach, having obtained qualifications in Islamic law and theology.
He later moved to Canada, where he served as an Imam from 1997 until May 2007, when he returned to Ghana to take up leadership of the Anbariya Islamic Institute.
Under his leadership, the Institute continued to combine Islamic and secular education, with infrastructure development supporting its educational programmes.
The late Afa Seidu will be laid to rest at the Nyanshagu Cemetery on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
The Janaza prayers will be held at the premises of the Anbariya Islamic Institute at 1000 hours.
Join our whatsapp channel for all the latest updates.
For news coverage, article publication, and advertisement, send an email to ghanaianminaret@gmail.com or reach us via whatsapp, telegram or phone call on +233266666773.
