Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has denied reports suggesting that he was a target during recent United States airstrikes on terrorist positions in Sokoto State.
Gumi said the claims stem from a misinterpretation of an old video that recently resurfaced online. In a statement posted on his official Facebook page on Sunday, the cleric clarified that the remarks in the video referred to a threat he faced from the Boko Haram insurgent group in 2012, not to any recent military operation.
According to Gumi, his life is not currently under threat, contrary to reports circulating on social media and some online platforms.
“There is fake news going viral now that wrongly claims that I said I was targeted by the US attack on Nigerian soil, or something to that effect,” he wrote. “I never said so, and I never thought of such a possibility.”
The cleric explained that the original statement was made during a mosque lecture, where he recounted how Boko Haram operatives allegedly planned to assassinate him more than a decade ago.
“In August 2012, I was informed that Boko Haram had marked me for elimination. Two individuals sent to carry out the attack were killed when the bomb they carried detonated in their hands near my house,” he said.
Gumi added that he is currently living peacefully with his family and without fear or intimidation. He also called on media organisations that reported the claim to retract their stories and issue public apologies.
The clarification follows widespread online speculation linking Gumi to the recent airstrikes, which Nigerian authorities said were aimed at terror groups operating in parts of the North-West.