Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has accused the United States of deliberately using Nigeria as a cover to pursue its own interests through claims of a so-called Christian genocide in the country.
Gumi’s reaction followed a social media post by former senator representing Kaduna Central, Shehu Sani, who referenced a report by The New York Times alleging that claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria were based on unverified information.
According to Sani, the report revealed that the genocide narrative originated from an individual identified as Emeka, an Onitsha-based screwdriver trader who also runs a small non-governmental organisation. The report alleged that Emeka falsely claimed to have documented about 125,000 Christian deaths in Nigeria using Google searches as his primary source.
Describing the revelation as “unfortunate and tragic,” Sani questioned how such an unverified claim could gain enough traction to allegedly influence United States lawmakers, the President, and the intelligence community, culminating in military action. He described the situation as shameful and one of the most “foolish and comical historical events” of modern times.
Reacting via a Facebook post, Gumi dismissed suggestions that the United States was misled by false information. He insisted that the US intelligence community was fully aware of the realities on the ground in Nigeria.
“US intelligence is not stupid. They know everything, but wanted a Nigerian cover for their interest,” Gumi wrote.
The controversy trails reports that claims of Christian genocide in Nigeria influenced former US President Donald Trump to order military airstrikes in Sokoto State, a development that has continued to generate public debate and concern both within Nigeria and internationally.
