Real Reason For My 2025 Ibadan Trip — Gumi

 

 

 

 

By Akanni Toba

 

Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has made clarifications on the purpose of his trip to Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State towards the tail end of 2025.

 

Gumi noted that he was not invited by any Muslim group or individual in the Southwest adding that he was in the ancient city as a representative of northern Islamic scholars.

 

The Islamic cleric made these clarifications on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

 

He noted that he is at liberty to travel to any region of the country stressing that nobody can stop him from doing so

 

 

.broken his silence on his visitation to Ibadan late last year, amidst outrage that he was trying to Islamise Oyo State with some Northern ideologies and tenets.

 

Gumi stressed that nobody can stop him from visiting anywhere in the country, while maintaining that he was not invited by any Muslim group or individual in the South-West.

 

In a post on his Facebook page on Tuesday, he said he was in Ibadan as a representative of northern Islamic scholars.

 

 

“I was in Ibadan, not by the invitation of any SW Muslim individual or group, but as a representative of the Coalition of Northern Muslim Ulama.

 

“Can anybody stop me from going anywhere in Nigeria?”

 

 

Gumi’s reaction was prompted by the widespread outrage that greeted the abduction of students and teachers ín Yawota, Alawusa and Ahoro-esiele schools in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State.

 

The abductees, who are 46 in number, have spent over three weeks in the Kidnappers’ den.

 

Meanwhile, one of the kidnapped teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by the bandits two days after the incident became public.

 

The gruesome development, captured in a video released by the bandits, sent shivers down the spines of Nigerians, particularly relatives of the abductees.

 

Since then, the Kidnappers’ have been releasing videos, using one of the abducted teachers, the principal of Esinele Community High School, Rachael Alamu as the spokesperson to communicate their plans and amongst other duties.

 

In the first video featuring Alamu, the apparently jittery principal pleaded with both the State and Federal governments not to initiate military actions for their rescue but rather accept negotiations with the bandits.

 

Meanwhile, days after her first video, news started making the rounds that one of the conditions  of the bandits for the release of those in their clutches is the implementation of Sharia law in the state.

 

This attracted outrage and heavy criticisms from the public with many people, especially non-muslims, linking the Oyo abduction to the visit of Gumi to Ibadan last year and his purported plot to Islamize the pacesetter state.

 

However, in a dramatic twist on Monday, another video surfaced again featuring Alamu.

 

In the vudeo, Alamu said the gunmen  never demanded the introduction of Sharia law or a N1 billion ransom as reported in some quarters, but rather for the release of their associates currently in the custody of Nigerian authorities.

 

Responding to the development in Oyo, Gumi alleged thatvIslamophia is deeply entrenched in the Southwest polity.

 

“I quite understand now how Islamophobia is shaping politics in SW (South-West) and why I was unnecessarily dragged into their dirty local politics.” the Islamic cleric wrote.

 

 

Recall that Gumi visited Ibadan on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, where he served as a special guest and speaker at the Southern Nigerian Ulama Summit.

 

The event took place at the University of Ibadan.

 

During his visit, he also attended a courtesy session alongside other prominent Southern and Northern Muslim scholars.

 

Gumi has been an unofficial and self-appointed negotiator between bandits living in the forests and the government

 

The cleric has also been an unabashed defender of the cause of bandits over the years.