Controversy Arises as Sheik Ahmad Gumi Disputes FG’s List of Alleged Terrorist Financiers

In a recent development, Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Gumi has contested the Federal Government’s release of a list linking individuals and entities to terrorism financing in Nigeria.

Sheik Gumi

The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit disclosed the identities of 15 entities, including nine individuals and six Bureau De Change operators and firms, allegedly involved in financing terrorism.

Leading the list of individuals named in the document is Tukur Mamu, a Kaduna-based publisher and ally of Gumi, currently facing trial for his alleged involvement in financing the terrorists responsible for the Abuja-Kaduna train attack in March 2022.

The document accuses Mamu of receiving and delivering ransom payments totaling $200,000 US in support of ISWAP terrorists.

Reacting to the development on a Twitter spaces session organized by Daily Trust, Gumi disputed the labeling of individuals as terrorist financiers by security agencies, claiming that no Nigerian would willingly finance terrorism.

He asserted that terrorists fund their operations through ransom payments collected from kidnapped victims’ families.

Gumi further questioned the authority of security agencies to declare someone a terrorist financier, emphasizing the need for judicial processes to determine guilt. He urged waiting for the court’s verdict on Mamu’s case, criticizing the practice of media trials.

Meanwhile, Gumi had previously expressed his intention to engage in dialogue with bandits responsible for the abduction of 287 school children from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in Kaduna State.

He advocated for dialogue as a means to facilitate the release of the abducted children, urging President Bola Tinubu not to repeat the alleged mistake of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who reportedly refused to engage in dialogue with bandits.