Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, has urged the Federal Government to immediately suspend all forms of military cooperation with the United States, warning that continued foreign involvement could expose Nigeria to greater insecurity and undermine its sovereignty.
Gumi made the call while reacting to reports of United States airstrikes on suspected ISIS elements on Christmas Day, insisting that foreign military interventions often worsen conflicts rather than resolve them.
In a Facebook post on Friday titled “The Symbolism of the US Strike!”, the cleric advised Nigeria to explore security partnerships with what he described as more neutral countries, including China, Turkey and Pakistan, in addressing its security challenges.
“The US involvement in Nigeria will attract the real anti-US forces, making our land the theatre of war,” Gumi wrote. “As a principle, no nation should allow its land to be a theatre of war, and no nation should allow its neighbours to be their enemies.”
While acknowledging the legitimacy of efforts to combat terrorism, the cleric maintained that such operations should not be outsourced to foreign powers, which he accused of pursuing their own interests.
“Annihilating terrorists is an Islamic obligation,” he said, citing a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). “But it should only be carried out by clean, holy hands, not by another terrorist whose hands are stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women, and men.”
According to him, relying on the United States to fight terrorism in Nigeria is a “mistake,” arguing that “terrorists don’t fight terrorists in truth; they may only kill innocent people and have ulterior motives behind the drama of fighting ‘terror’.”
Gumi further warned that American involvement, particularly under the pretext of protecting Christians, could deepen religious divisions and weaken national unity.
“The USA’s involvement in Nigeria, citing coming to ‘protect Christians’, will ultimately polarise our nation and infringe on our sovereignty,” he stated. “Nigeria should halt all military cooperation with the USA immediately because of its imperial tendencies worldwide.”
He also suggested that the issue would feature prominently in future political debates ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Nigerians are too educated to be played with. This is going to be a 2027 campaign discourse,” he added.
On the broader fight against terrorism, Gumi argued that airstrikes alone would not solve the problem.
“Dropping a few bombs here and there cannot tackle the menace of terror; they need serious military on the ground, which, if we are serious, we have enough men to do that,” he said, urging affected communities to document and publicise any civilian casualties.
He also raised concerns over what he described as the symbolism of the reported strike, claiming it could inflame religious tensions.
“The attacks are symbolic of a harbinger of a neo-Crusade war against Islam,” he claimed. “An attack on Sokoto, where over 90 per cent are Muslim with no imminent danger of terror, while the real threat is in Maiduguri, and on a Christmas Eve, with the claim of protecting against Christian genocide, says a lot.”
The cleric further alleged that terrorism in Nigeria was being manipulated by vested interests.
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“We believe the terror is manufactured and sustained by the same people claiming to fight it. A word is enough for the wise,” he said.
