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By Lizzy Chirkpi
Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has claimed that he was secretly informed by security sources that his name has been listed among individuals allegedly marked for elimination as Boko Haram figures.
Gumi made the allegation while addressing his congregation in a video that has since gone viral. He said he received an early morning phone call from an unnamed source in Abuja, who informed him that his name was mentioned during a high-level national security meeting.
“They called me from Abuja and told me there was a security meeting. They said I have been marked, that I will be eliminated. And who are Boko Haram?” Gumi asked.
According to the cleric, the caller disclosed that his name was among those allegedly identified for assassination in connection with terrorism-related concerns.
Gumi went further to question prevailing narratives around terrorism, arguing that powerful global actors were responsible for the emergence of insurgent groups.
“Even Americans said they came to fight terrorists, so who are the terrorists? They are the ones,” he said, accusing the United States of playing a role in the rise of Boko Haram.
He also alleged that Nigeria’s deepening insecurity and social divisions were being driven by foreign influence, policies and narratives which he attributed to the administration of former United States President Donald Trump.
The cleric faulted Nigerian political and religious leaders for failing to speak out as the country drifted further into crisis.
According to him, foreign-backed funding and narratives deliberately portrayed Christians as the sole victims of insecurity, a development he claimed was designed to sow division and deepen mistrust among Nigerians.
“Because of lies, you brought violence. But where are the leaders? What did they do? What about the scholars? Everyone has gone to hide in their corners,” he said.
Gumi argued that no sovereign nation would accept external interference aimed at dividing its people along religious or social lines, warning that such actions undermine national unity.
“Which country would agree to bring something in just to divide its people? Either you bring all of us together, or you hold us and hand us over to them,” he stated.
He further accused political and religious elites of abandoning meaningful dialogue, leaving Nigerians with what he described as noise instead of real solutions, while hardship, oppression and denial of rights continued to worsen.
Warning that fear, silence and division were pushing the country deeper into crisis, Gumi stressed that continued inaction by leaders and clerics would only compound Nigeria’s challenges.
“This is the kind of situation we are in. It is dragging the country down,” he added.