Ahmad Gumi, a popular Islamic cleric, has denied reports that the Nigerian secret police, the State Security Service (SSS), invited him on Friday, June 25, 2021.
Gumi said he was neither arrested nor invited for interrogation by the security agency over his remarks on military colluding with terrorists, according to a Premium Times report.
âI am having non-stop calls from all over the globe asking whether I was interrogated or detained by the DSS. Let it be clear. Nothing of that happened,â he said.
The cleric had accused security personnel of providing arms to terrorists known locally as ‘bandits’ wreaking havoc in the Northwest and North-central Nigeria, when he featured on an Arise Television Programme on Wednesday, June 23.
In February, Gumi moved around the terrorists’ enclaves, preaching to them to lay down their arms and embrace peace.
He has also been equally canvassing amnesty for the terrorists who have been intensifying their deadly attacks on vulnerable villagers as they operate from their camps in the large swathes of forests straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states.
When he commented that the crimes committed by terrorists were lesser than those committed by a secessionist group in Southeast Nigeria, a widespread outrage called for his arrest.
Yes, he was invited by SSSâSpokesperson
Peter Afunaya, the SSS’s spokesperson confirmed the cleric was invited for questioning.
âGumi was invited as a person of interest. The service invited Sheikh Gumi. It is not out of place for it to invite any person of interest,â Afunaya told HumAngle.
âIt may not be unconnected with his claim that security agencies were colluding with bandits in the spate of kidnapping for ransom afflicting the nation.â
A Vanguard report stated that the cleric had disagreed with the suggestions that he made disparaging remarks against the Nigerian military.Â
Gumi had insisted that he never committed any offence since he was always accompanied by security agents when visiting the terrorists’ enclaves.
âSince I ventured into the forest, I went there with full security, the police, with the knowledge of the DSS, traditional rulers and the Fulani leaders, I never went alone,â he said.
âI have a good working relationship with all the security outfits, and I didnât meet any bandits in the forests we visited without the presence of the security men, state officials, representatives of traditional rulers, and Fulani Ardos,â Gumi said.
âWe will continue to discuss and have interactions directly or through representatives with all these institutions.
He said he would âcontinue to cooperate to see that peace has prevailed in this dear nation.â Â
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