Gumi: I Cannot Be Arrested By US Troops In Nigeria

Controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmed Gumi has rebuffed claims that he has been arrested by the United States, US Forces in Nigeria. Gumi said the US forces have no power to arrest in the country, dismissing social media reports that he has been taken into custody by the American forces.

Gumi’s remark comes on the heels of a viral video on the social media, claiming that the US forces who arrived, few days ago, into the country have arrested the Kaduna-based iIlamic cleric, over the belief that he has links with terrorists in the country.

The magazine reports that the US government had earlier in the week , announced that it has sent troops to Nigeria, to assist in counter-terrorism efforts, saying existing collaboration between Nigeria and US governments have not really tackled the problem.

Not a few Nigerians have welcome the US decision to send troops to the country to help in tackling insecurity in the country, particularly, insurgency and banditry ravaging many states in northern Nigeria, and are now spreading southwards.

Some Nigerians have also called for the arrest of Sheik Gumi, and others who they believed are collaborators with some of the non-state actors taking up arms against the country.

So, when the report that the cleric has been arrested filtered into the social media, not a few people in the country welcome it, and gave a sigh of relief.

Reacting to the report, Gumi, said he has not been taken into custody by American soldiers in the country, claiming that they have no power to do so.

“The US Army cannot arrest me in Nigeria, why will the US army come and arrest me in Nigeria, for what reason?” the Islamic cleric said.

Announcing the deployment of a small contingent of military officers to Nigeria, General Dagvin R.M. Anderson of US Africa Command said during a briefing on Tuesday, that the deployment was part of the agreement with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in Rome, Italy last year, pointing out that more needed to be done to counter“the terrorist threat in West Africa.”

“That has led to increased collaboration between our nations, to include a small US team that brings some unique capabilities from the United States in order to augment what Nigeria has been doing for several years,” Gen. Anderson said.