Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has dismissed viral online claims that he was a target of recent United States airstrikes against terrorists in Sokoto State.
Speaking on Sunday, Gumi clarified that a video circulating on social media, which fueled the rumor, was an old clip taken out of context and had no connection to any recent military operations.
He stated that he is currently safe at home with his family and not under any threat.
The cleric explained that the misunderstanding stemmed from a past lecture where he recounted a 2012 assassination attempt against him by the Boko Haram sect.
In that incident, two assailants sent to kill him died when their own explosive device detonated prematurely near his house.
Gumi labeled the current story as “fake news” and stressed that he never said or thought he was a target for a US attack, urging news outlets that reported the false information to issue retractions.
