Thousands of Muslim worshipers stormed the houses of worship as early as 6 am and special measures were taken to avoid unpleasant surprises.

First, the carrying of bags was banned. To access the Mosque, body searches were systematic over a radius of at least 800 meters around the building and at several levels before getting to the main premises.

Even the Governor of the Far North Region, Midjiyawa Bakari, a Muslim faithful and the lamido of Maroua, her Majesty Bakari Bouba, spiritual leader and her guard passed through the scanner in the metal detector. Detective dogs belonging to the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), were fully alert and a helicopter that kept soaring in the sky to ensure security, also contributed in intensifying security measures.

The prayer took place from 8:43 to 8:48 am, on the occasion of the feast of Tabaski in the great Maroua Mosque. As concerns the ritual itself, Imam Cheikh Mahamoudou Mal Bakary, president of the Council of Scholars and Imams of Cameroon, said that certainly it is a habit of visiting this place to pray and sacrifice sheep on the occasion of the feast of Tabaski, but that this meeting which has become regular by the force of a habit should not lose its significance i.e. the Act of piety and devotion shown to Allah.

This is why for the occasion, he chose the theme: "faith and society”, a subject which allowed him to dwell on the evils that undermine our society today where morality and good education are declining.

He exhorted the faithful to be "more involved and to pay special attention to the quality of spiritual, moral, civic and vocational education especially for youth, spearhead of our society, of our future if we want them to be carriers of hope and the beatitudes.”

The message conveyed in the presence of several administrative authorities, military and scholars of the region did not fall on deaf ears. By accompanying the Muslim faithful in prayer, non-Muslims did not hesitate to respond to this call by saying a single choir, “AMEN”. The Lamido of Maroua closed the ceremony by sacrificing a ram