Controversial Northern Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has alleged that he was secretly warned by security sources of a plot to “eliminate” him. He claimed his name was added to a list of individuals purportedly linked to the Boko Haram terrorist group.
Addressing his congregation, Gumi stated that he received an early-morning phone call from an anonymous source in Abuja, who informed him that his name was discussed during a recent high-level national security meeting.
“They called me from Abuja, saying there was a security meeting,” Gumi said. “They said I have been marked; that I will be eliminated. And who are Boko Haram?”
### **Allegations Against the United States**
During the address, the cleric pivoted to sharp criticisms of foreign interference, specifically accusing the United States of being the true architect behind the Boko Haram insurgency.
“Even Americans say they came to fight terrorists, so who are the terrorists? They are the ones [doing it],” Gumi alleged. He further suggested that foreign powers are responsible for the violence and bombings plaguing the country.
Gumi claimed that Nigeria’s deepening insecurity and social fractures have been exacerbated by “lies” and policies he attributed to the era of former U.S. President Donald Trump. He argued that foreign-backed narratives have been designed to oppress citizens and falsely portray Christians as the sole victims of the crisis, a framing he believes was intended to sow religious division.
### **Critique of Nigerian Leadership**
The cleric did not spare domestic leaders and fellow religious scholars, accusing them of retreating into silence as the nation slides into chaos.
“Because of lies, you brought violence, but where are the leaders? What did they do?” Gumi asked. “What about the scholars? Where are they? Everyone has gone to hide in their corners.”
He argued that no sovereign nation should allow external interference that divides its people along religious or social lines. “There is no country that would accept that,” he said. “It would say either you bring us all together, or you hold us and hand us over to them.”
### **A Warning of National Decline**
Lamenting the current state of the country, Gumi accused the political and religious elite of abandoning meaningful dialogue in favor of “noise” while the public suffers from hardship, oppression, and the denial of fundamental rights.
“You brought us hardship, you broke us. You oppressed us, you denied us our rights,” he said, warning that the current climate of fear and division is dragging Nigeria toward a total collapse.
Gumi concluded by stressing that the continued avoidance of these issues by the nation’s leadership will only serve to deepen the ongoing crises.
