Lawyer tackles Gumi over defence of terrorists

Malcolm

Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, and human rights lawyer, Malcolm Omirhobo, have traded words over the cleric’s alleged defence of terrorists and bandits operating across the country.

The verbal clash began after Omirhobo, a public interest advocate, called on the Department of State Services, the police, Office of the National Security Adviser, and the National Assembly Committees on Defence, Human Rights, and Judiciary to investigate and prosecute Gumi for what he described as “consistent justification and defence of terrorists.”

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the lawyer accused Gumi of repeatedly making public statements that promote and embolden criminal groups responsible for killings, kidnappings, and mass displacement in the North.

“It is deeply alarming that Sheikh Ahmad Gumi continues to publicly justify and defend terrorists who are maiming, killing, kidnapping, raping, and displacing innocent Nigerians while describing them as ‘listening and reasonable human beings’ who should be pacified and not eliminated by force,” Omirhobo wrote.

He warned that Gumi’s frequent visits to bandit camps and his open calls for dialogue with the criminals constitute a serious threat to national security, adding that such conduct amounts to promoting terrorism in violation of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Quoting relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution, including Sections 14(2)(b) and 45(1), Omirhobo argued that “encouraging or defending acts of war against the Nigerian state is treasonable and punishable by life imprisonment or death.”

The lawyer’s statement came amid growing public criticism of Gumi’s recent utterances, especially his call for Nigeria to cut off diplomatic ties with the US following President Donald Trump’s threat to intervene militarily over alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria.

But in a swift response, Gumi took to his Facebook page on Thursday to issue a 48-hour ultimatum to the lawyer, demanding a retraction and apology.