Former Southeast spokesman to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Denge Josef Onoh, has launched a blistering attack on Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, accusing him of undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty and aiding insecurity through his public utterances.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, Onoh said Gumi’s latest comments on Facebook—alleging conspiracies about “empty coffins” in the Middle Belt and dismissing reports of Christian persecution—were “reckless, divisive, and unpatriotic.”
“It is disappointing that someone of Sheikh Gumi’s stature continues to make statements that inflame tensions and weaken public confidence in our collective pursuit of peace,” Onoh said. “Rather than uniting Nigeria, such rhetoric only deepens the wounds of a nation already struggling to heal.”
Onoh alleged that Gumi’s years of public interventions have “stained Nigeria with blood, division, and shame,” claiming that his “toxic advocacy” has emboldened terrorists and demoralized the nation’s armed forces.
“I am calling for the immediate arrest of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi,” Onoh declared. “His words and actions have consistently aligned with those who threaten Nigeria’s sovereignty. The security agencies must investigate him and his network under the Terrorism Prevention Act.”
Onoh accused Gumi of “openly fraternizing with bandit leaders” and “using the guise of mediation to justify terrorism,” adding that such conduct has contributed to the spread of kidnapping and rural banditry across northern Nigeria.
“For too long, Sheikh Gumi has masqueraded as a peacemaker, but in truth, he has become part of the problem,” Onoh said. “By constantly portraying violent criminals as victims, he gives legitimacy to murderers and kidnappers.”
Onoh also alleged that Gumi’s activities have “industrialized insecurity,” claiming that his so-called peace missions have turned internally displaced persons’ camps into “corridors of exploitation and shadowy deals.”
He further accused the cleric of “profiting politically and financially from national tragedy,” saying, “while Nigerians suffer, he enjoys access, influence, and immunity that no ordinary citizen would have.”
On Gumi’s recent foreign travels, Onoh alleged that his trip to Turkey was “suspiciously timed” with sensitive global developments, describing it as “an attempt to stoke tension and attract foreign sympathy through fabricated narratives.”
Onoh noted that Gumi was reportedly barred by Saudi authorities from participating in the 2025 Hajj due to “controversial views,” asserting that “even the Islamic world has grown weary of his divisive pronouncements.”
“If Saudi Arabia can take such a step, it tells you how dangerous his rhetoric has become,” Onoh said. “He has made himself a liability to Nigeria’s image and to the faith he claims to defend.”
Onoh warned that Gumi’s continued justification of violent groups could attract international sanctions and security monitoring, urging the United States and allied nations to place him on a terrorist watch list.
“Sheikh Gumi’s pattern of justification, negotiation, and provocation fits the global profile of radical sympathizers,” Onoh alleged. “He has become, in my view, a financier of fear and a mouthpiece for those who kill innocent people.”
He said President Tinubu’s government should not allow “any individual, however powerful, to sabotage national security or blackmail the state with false narratives,” urging that Gumi’s network be fully investigated.
“Mr. President must act decisively,” Onoh stated. “Our sovereignty is under assault not only from armed criminals but from those who use religion and propaganda to defend them.”
Onoh maintained that Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda is being undermined by voices like Gumi’s, which “fuel ethnic and religious division for personal gain,” warning that such conduct “can no longer be tolerated in a nation fighting for survival.”
He concluded with a direct message to Gumi:
“Retract your falsehoods, apologize to the families of victims, and stop defending those who have destroyed lives and communities. Nigeria deserves peace, not manipulation.”
