Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately halt all military cooperation with the United States following reported US airstrikes on terrorists in Nigeria’s northwest region.
Gumi, who has often been accused of sympathysing terrorists, warned that American involvement could further destabilise Nigeria and undermine its sovereignty.
President Donald Trump, in a post on his Truth Social account on Thursday, said the United States carried out air strikes against ISIS-linked terrorists responsible for attacks on Christian communities in the northwest.
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“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump wrote.
He added, “I have previously warned these terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper. May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
Moments later the Nigerian government confirmed the strikes in a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shared by the presidency.
It described the operation as part of ongoing security cooperation between Nigeria and the U.S.
Reacting to the development, Gumi in a statement published on his Facebook page on Friday, criticised what he described as the United States’ “imperial tendencies” and questioned its moral authority to be involved in Nigeria’s counterterrorism efforts.
While acknowledging that Islam permits the fight against terrorism, the cleric argued that such actions must be carried out by “clean and holy hands,” insisting that the United States does not meet that standard because of its global military record.
“Annihilating terrorists is an Islamic obligation,” Gumi wrote, citing a prophetic tradition.
However, he added that the task “should only be carried out by clean, holy hands, not by another terrorist whose hands are stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women, and men.”
According to him, Nigeria erred by allowing foreign powers to play a role in its counterterrorism operations, arguing that “terrorists do not truly fight terrorists,” but often end up killing innocent civilians while pursuing hidden political agendas.
Gumi warned that permitting US involvement could turn Nigeria into a theatre of war and attract anti-US forces into the country, thereby worsening the security situation.
“As a principle, no nation should allow its land to be a theater of war. And no nation should allow its neighbors to be their enemies,” he stated.
He further cautioned that American intervention, especially under claims of protecting Christians, could polarise Nigeria along religious lines and infringe on national sovereignty.
“The USA’s involvement in Nigeria, citing coming to ‘protect Christians’, will ultimately polarize our nation and infringe on our sovereignty,” he said, adding that Nigerians were “too educated to be played with.”
Gumi urged the Federal Government to immediately end all military cooperation with the United States and instead seek assistance from countries he described as more neutral.
“If Nigeria wants military assistance, China, Turkey, and Pakistan can do the job effectively,” he said.
The cleric also dismissed the effectiveness of airstrikes in tackling terrorism, stressing that lasting results could only be achieved through well-organised ground operations. He maintained that Nigeria already has enough personnel to confront insecurity if properly mobilised.
“Dropping a few bombs here and there cannot tackle the menace of terror; they need serious military on the ground, which, if we are serious, we have enough men to do that,” Gumi noted.
“This is going to be a 2027 campaign discourse,” he added,
He described the US strikes as symbolic and warned they could be perceived as part of an agenda against Islam, particularly as it was an attack on Sokoto, a predominantly Muslim area, on Christmas Eve.
Gumi also called on communities affected by the strikes to document and share evidence of any civilian casualties for transparency.