Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has claimed that he was informed he had been listed for elimination by the United States as a Boko Haram member on the same day a US military airstrike was carried out in Nigeria.
Gumi made the allegation while addressing worshippers in a video that went viral on Sunday. The clip was shared on X by user #General_Somto.
According to the cleric, he received an early-morning phone call from an unnamed source in Abuja who briefed him on a national security meeting and warned that his name had allegedly been included among individuals marked for assassination.
“I received a call from a top official in Abuja informing me that I am among those marked by the US for elimination through an American airstrike, as part of Boko Haram. Northern leaders and clerics must speak up against these lies,” Gumi said.
His claim comes against the backdrop of a US airstrike carried out on December 25 against suspected members of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in Sokoto State.
The strike followed comments by former US President Donald Trump, who had threatened that the United States would intervene in Nigeria “guns-a-blazing” to wipe out terrorists killing Christians.
Gumi criticised foreign military involvement in Nigeria, arguing that such interventions have historically worsened insecurity rather than resolved it.
“They claim to have come here to fight terrorists, but they are the actual terrorists,” he said.
The cleric also questioned prevailing global narratives on terrorism, alleging that powerful foreign nations played a role in 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 contributing to the rise of Boko Haram.
Gumi further alleged that Nigeria’s deepening insecurity and social divisions were being fueled by foreign influence, policies and narratives, which he linked to the administration of former US President Donald Trump.
He also expressed concern over what he described as the silence of political and religious leaders in northern Nigeria in the face of repeated attacks by Boko Haram and ISWAP.
“The North, you all know they attacked, but where are your leaders and what have they done about it?” he asked.
The cleric went on to criticise some religious scholars, accusing them of failing to challenge false claims by terrorists and alleging that foreign support was being directed only at Christians.
“They attacked us with false claims, and they give support of a certain amount of money to Christians alone. No country will accept that. Either you give support to the entire nation, or we don’t need it,” he said.
“It happens and nobody is talking; they are all afraid to talk. That’s the situation we are in this country,” Gumi added.
