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A renowned Catholic Author, Deacon Nick Donnelly, has called for the immediate arrest of a controversial Nigerian Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.
The call followed Gumi’s remarks after the United States’ Christmas Day airstrikes against insurgents in parts of Sokoto State.
Gumi in a statement on Friday urged the Federal Government to immediately halt any collaboration with the US to take out the perpetrators of alleged genocide against Christians.
Reacting to Gumi’s comments, Nick Donnelly in a post on X, said the Islamic scholar must be arrested and prosecuted.
He wrote, “Sheikh Gumi protests President Trump’s Christmas military strikes against the bestial Islamist terrorists.
“Calling the terrorists conducting the genocide against Christians ‘our warriors’.
“Gumi must be arrested and put on trial for crimes against humanity.
“Tinubu must publicly condemn Gumi or else he is declaring his complicity in his crimes.”
Gumi is controversial his late father. Hese are excerpts taken from an interview Sheikh Gumi’s father granted in 1987 to a magazine called Quality:
Quality: Now you say Nigerian press is also very free?
Gumi: Yes.
Quality: Some of the papers have attacked you on some issues. Has it ever worried you?
Gumi: No, I was not worried because they did not know what they were doing. If they come and ask me what is this you are doing. If you know that what you are doing is from your heart, whatever criticism comes against you, you don’t feel, because the man who is acting doesn’t know what he is doing, if he knows what he is doing, he comes and ask you.
Quality: Apart from Islam, how much of this attitude would you say “my family has influenced me.” How much of it is from your family?
Gumi: Now I don’t think I got this from the family because since I left my family, I join the school and I was learning and practising according to my life and my father died when I was young and I have no elder brothers, I only have elder sisters who were married in their houses, so I was free since I was young and I did everything according to how I learnt from the book.
Quality: But even now, you have your own family. How much influence do they have on you?
Gumi: They have freedom of coming to ask me why. Freedom of asking me their rights and if I have I give them and if I don’t have, until the time is right, this is the position.
Quality: They understand?
Gumi: Yes they understand.
Quality: On all issues?
Gumi: Everything, I don’t conceal anything.
Quality: Now we go back to politics again.
Gumi: Yes.
Quality: One of Nigeria’s problems is that of unity, how much can Islam help in bringing about the so much talked about Nigerian unity?
Gumi: Nigerian unity, if I am to do my best, is to try to convert christians and non-moslems as much as possible. Until the other religions become minority and they will not affect our society.
Quality: So that is the way you can help?
Gumi: Yes.
