{"id":126271,"date":"2026-03-24T17:36:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=126271"},"modified":"2026-03-24T17:36:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T16:36:41","slug":"kaduna-cleric-debunks-arrest-claim-linked-to-peter-obis-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/kaduna-cleric-debunks-arrest-claim-linked-to-peter-obis-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaduna Cleric Debunks Arrest Claim Linked to Peter Obi&#8217;s Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">A Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Umar, has debunked reports of his alleged arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS), countering claims made by former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, after a recent visit to the state.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The controversy was triggered by a post from Obi on Tuesday via his X handle, where he claimed that Umar had been arrested shortly after hosting him during a visit to Kaduna on Sunday.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0The allegation quickly spread, drawing reactions from members of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and other political actors.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">In response, Umar appeared in a viral video hours later, dismissing the claim as false and misleading.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He maintained that he was neither arrested nor harassed by any security agency, insisting that he remains safe and unharmed.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cI was not arrested. I am safe and going about my normal activities,\u201d Umar said, seeking to dispel the reports circulating online.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amid conflicting claims, observers have called on Obi to clarify the source of his information and explain why he believed the cleric had been arrested.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u00a0Supporters and members of his political fold are also urged to prevail on him to clear any lingering doubts surrounding the claim.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The development has sparked mixed reactions across social media, with some users questioning the origin of the report, while others cautioned against spreading unverified information.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">As of the time of filing this report, neither the Department of State Services nor representatives of the ADC had issued an official statement clarifying the situation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The incident underscores the growing concern over misinformation in Nigeria\u2019s political space, especially in the age of rapid social media communication.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo A Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Umar, has debunked reports of his alleged arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS), countering claims made by former presidential candidate,&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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