Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said reports making the rounds claiming he was arrested, detained and interrogated by the State Security Service (SSS), are false.
Gumi who made the statement on Friday through a post on his official Facebook page, also said he has been receiving phone calls from all over the world, following news of his purported arrest.
The cleric said: “I have been receiving calls nonstop from all over the globe asking whether I was interrogated or detained by the DSS. Let it be made clear: nothing like that happened.
“I have a good working relationship with all the security outfits and I didn’t meet any bandit in the forests we visited without the presence of the security men, state officials, representatives of traditional rulers and Fulani Ardos.
“And I will continue to have discussions and interactions directly or through representatives with all these institutions.
“So, people should rest assured that there is no conflict of any sort and we will continue to cooperate to see that peace prevails in our dear nation.”
SSS spokesman, Peter Afunnaya, had earlier been quoted by a national newspaper as saying that “it is not out of place for the Service to invite any person of interest.”
Gumi had in a recent interview on Wednesday, when he appeared as a guest on Arise TV‘s ‘Good Morning Show’, warned that the refusal of the Buhari government to listen to agitators in the country, will hasten the demise of the country.
He said when citizens begin to take up arms against their own country, it shows there's a problem, and pretending that there are no agitations will not make them go away.
He therefore, warned that the Buhari government had better chose the easy path to peace which is to listen and address the concerns of agitators, otherwise, the one Nigeria they say is non-negotiable, with be destroyed without negotiation.
“Government doesn’t want to recognise that there are agitations. Even with the IPOB. If I were the government, I will go and sit down with them and ask what the problem is.
“Why are you carrying weapons against your own country? So is the case with the herdsmen. They are ready to negotiate,” Gumi said.
Gumi in the same interview last Wednesday, also accused the Nigerian army of colluding with bandits to commit crimes and various atrocities in the country — a claim the military denied.
Speaking in a statement by its Director of Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, the Army said while it would not rule out the possibility of black sheep among them, it is however, unhelpful to make 'derogatory comments that have the potential to embolden criminals.'
“It is essential to remind ourselves that these same military, being accused of connivance, are the ones who recently put their lives on the line to rescue abductees of the Government Secondary School, Birnin Yawuri from kidnappers.
“While the NA will not attempt to excuse the possibility of black sheep amongst its fold, it must be stated unambiguously that it will not condone any form of sabotage or aiding and assisting the enemy by any personnel.
“The provisions for dealing decisively with such acts are crystallised in Section 45 (1) of the Armed Forces Act CAP A 20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
“It must also be pointed out, that while the military is very much receptive to constructive criticism, it should not be perceived as a gateway for derogatory comments that have the potential to embolden criminals,” he said.