ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 Nigerian Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi on Thursday condemned the recent U.S. military strikes on extremist targets in Sokoto, calling the operation a \u201cneo\u2011Crusade war\u201d and urging the federal government to immediately halt all military cooperation with Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gumi, a prominent figure in national security debates, said Nigeria made a \u201cmistake\u201d by allowing foreign forces to conduct operations on its soil. The U.S. mission marked the first time in Nigeria\u2019s history that a foreign military has carried out a strike inside the country, a development that has fueled intense political and public scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe government must stop the Americans now,\u201d Gumi said in a statement. He warned that continued U.S. involvement could turn northern Nigeria into a \u201ctheatre of war\u201d and attract anti\u2011American militant groups to the region. He argued that the strikes risk inflaming tensions in the predominantly Muslim North and could worsen insecurity rather than resolve it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gumi who stopped short of calling on the Nigerian government to retaliate against the United States, has repeatedly urged the Nigerian government to \u201cimmediately halt all forms of military cooperation\u201d with Washington and formally demand an end to the strikes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cleric has long been a controversial voice in Nigeria\u2019s security landscape. Critics have accused him of sympathizing with armed groups in the North because of his past outreach to bandit leaders and his calls for negotiations rather than military action. Earlier this year, Gumi was reportedly denied entry into Saudi Arabia, a move that drew national attention and renewed debate over his influence and activities. Saudi authorities did not publicly disclose the reason for the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The U.S. strike, carried out with Abuja\u2019s approval, targeted an extremist cell linked to regional insurgent networks. American officials said the mission was coordinated with Nigerian authorities, though details of the operation have not been released.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The action has sparked a broader debate over sovereignty, security, and the government\u2019s handling of terrorism. Supporters of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu say the cooperation with Washington demonstrates a willingness to take decisive action against extremist groups that have destabilized northern Nigeria for more than a decade. Critics argue the strike exposes the government\u2019s inability to secure the country without foreign intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The controversy comes as political tensions rise ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with Tinubu widely expected to seek a second term. Analysts say the U.S. strike \u2014 the first foreign military action on Nigerian soil \u2014 has become a flashpoint in discussions about his leadership and the state of national security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Nigerian government has not responded directly to Gumi\u2019s remarks but has defended its decision to authorize the U.S. mission, saying the operation was aimed at protecting civilians and degrading extremist networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the debate continues, Gumi\u2019s comments have added a new layer of political and religious sensitivity to an already volatile moment, underscoring the deep divisions over how Nigeria should confront terrorism \u2014 and who should be allowed to help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nigerian Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi on Thursday condemned the recent U.S. military strikes on extremist targets in Sokoto, calling the operation a \u201cneo\u2011Crusade war\u201d and urging the federal government to immediately halt all military cooperation with Washington. Is he right? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":22388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,5,3,1138],"tags":[157,3058,3043,3057,175,3056,42],"class_list":["post-25735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-naija-news","category-politics","tag-abuja","tag-esptein-files","tag-gumi","tag-islamic-terrorist","tag-lagos","tag-sheik-gumi","tag-trump"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Sheikh-Ahmad-Gumi.jpg?fit=750%2C420&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25736,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25735\/revisions\/25736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}