Oyo Abduction: Gumi Responds to Critics, Vows to Visit Ibadan Regardless

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi declared that no one can stop him from traveling to Oyo State or anywhere else in Nigeria.

He made the statement on Tuesday in a Facebook post, arguing that his visit to Ibadan had been incorrectly tied to what he called “dirty local politics” in the South‑West.

The cleric has been criticized after allegations surfaced that his trip was intended to promote northern Islamic ideologies and to “Islamise” Oyo State.

In response, Gumi said he had not been invited to Ibadan by any Muslim individual or group in the South‑West.

He explained that he attended an event in the city as a representative of northern Islamic scholars.

He added, “I now understand how Islamophobia is shaping politics in the South‑West and why I was unnecessarily dragged into their dirty local politics. I was in Ibadan, not by the invitation of any South‑West Muslim individual or group, but as a representative of the Coalition of Northern Muslim Ulama. Can anybody stop me from going anywhere in Nigeria?”

His comments come amid controversy over claims that abductors of some victims in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State demanded the introduction of Sharia law in the state as a condition for their release.