No, Sheikh Gumi did not warn US, Israel against dividing Nigeria

Claim: Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has warned the United States and Israel against dividing Nigeria, noting that such a move will be strongly resisted as it would cause the displacement of Fulanis.

Verdict: Misleading! There is no evidence that Gumi made such a statement. While the cleric advised the Nigerian government to halt military co-operation with the United States, he never explicitly mentioned that Israel and the US would divide Nigeria. 

Full Text

Following the Dec. 25, 2025, United States (US) air strike in Sokoto state and Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s reaction to the attack, the Islamic cleric has become a target of misinformation for Facebook bloggers. DUBAWA fact-checked some of these claims here and here.

On Jan. 27, 2025, a claim surfaced on Facebook that Gumi issued a threat against the US and Israel over their intervention in Nigeria’s security situation. Gumi allegedly said the countries were coming to liberate Biafra and divide Nigeria, ultimately, which would eventually affect the Fulanis. The cleric was said to have threatened to resist this move by the world powers. The claim was also shared here, here, and here.

DUBAWA x-rayed the comment section and found that some users believed the statement attributed to the cleric, while others were sceptical and asked for its source.

A user, @Chinyere Uduma, said, “Gumi, you are a betrayer. We want to go our separate ways; we can’t co-exist.”

Another user, Richard Olu Raheem, asked if there is unity in the country. Richard wrote, “You are joking, where is the unity? Unity because Oil still comes from the Niger Delta, where the Northern leaders and Elites are getting cheap money. Time for everyone to go and rely on her resources. This is what we want. Terrorism created by the core North has eroded real economic development in the country.”

Awolade Oluwadare, on the other hand, commented, “I don’t believe Gumi can say all these… what is his backup to say these?”

In recent times, ethnocentric conversations have prevailed on social media, which can affect the unity of a diverse multicultural nation like Nigeria. This supposed utterance from Sheikh Gumi can further such conversations, so DUBAWA decided to fact-check the claim.

Verification

DUBAWA conducted a Google search to see if the cleric had made any such utterance recently, but found no news reports in credible outlets to support it.

The search results for similar posts came from blogs on Facebook and Instagram, without details on when or where he said it and who interviewed him. 

We also checked the cleric’s official Facebook page, where he expresses his worldview on issues, but we found nothing of the sort. 

Sheikh Gumi has been very vocal about his interest in protecting the Fulanis. In a 2021 interview with Channels TV, the cleric said Fulani herders who were involved in banditry were victims of circumstance. 

The cleric has also, at several times, shown his disapproval of the current US President Donald Trump administration. Gumi has also condemned the December airstrike by the US government, urging the Nigerian government to discontinue US military intervention and consider neutral countries like China, Turkey, and Pakistan.  

If Gumi had made a remark on the United States and Israel attempting to divide Nigeria, such an occurrence would have been reported in the daily newspapers. 

Conclusion

There is no evidence to support the claim that Gumi threatened the US and Israel over the alleged division of Nigeria and the displacement of the Fulani people.