Controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has accused certain groups in Nigeria’s Middle Belt of staging fake mass burials by “burying empty coffins” to push a false narrative of Christian genocide in the country
Gumi made the claim in a post on his verified Facebook page while responding to criticism over his stay in Turkey amid growing international attention on alleged persecution of Christians in Nigeria. His remarks come shortly after former U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Christians are being killed in the country.
Quoting a message he said he received from a doctor, Gumi wrote: “Do you know that some Middle Belt Christian groups are now staging fake mass killings? They are burying empty coffins and recording the process as if real victims were killed, just to push the narrative of a Christian genocide. This is desperation at its peak. A disgrace. Manipulating information just to provoke hatred and international sympathy.”
The Kaduna-based cleric rejected suggestions that he left Nigeria to avoid potential U.S. military intervention, saying his trip to Turkey had been planned weeks before Trump’s statement. “I got my Turkish visa on 16 October 2025, and Trump’s irresponsible tweet lying about ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria was on 1 November 2025. Yet, because of melancholy, they concoct lies and believe them. Trump has no power over us; it’s just your sick mind bowing down to him in worship,” he wrote.
Gumi described the genocide allegations as a deliberate attempt to discredit Islam and undermine the enforcement of Sharia law in northern Nigeria. “After the fog has cleared, the alleged ‘Christian genocide’ in Nigeria is all about a well-drawn-out plan to attack Sharia law and Islamophobia,” he added.
The cleric also called on President Bola Tinubu to take diplomatic action against Trump, labeling the former U.S. president’s statement a “direct affront” to Nigeria’s sovereignty. He urged the federal government to summon the U.S. ambassador and demand an official retraction, warning that Nigeria should consider severing ties if no action is taken.
“President Tinubu should summon the U.S. ambassador; they either retract their threats or we sever diplomatic ties with this irresponsible regime,” Gumi said. He added that Nigeria must diversify its foreign relations, noting that “the world is no longer unipolar” and the country “has friends elsewhere who respect our sovereignty.”
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