Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has stated that the recent criticism by activist and lawyer Deji Adeyanju is all a ploy to get a visa.

Adeyanju recently accused Sheikh Gumi of being a terrorists sympathizer, calling on the government to have him arrested.

He wrote on X, “People like Gumi can only survive in a country without a government. Terrorists sympathizers are terrorists.

“His words and actions promote terrorism in Nigeria. I call on the government to arrest him to serve as a deterrent to others”.

Reacting to a comment slamming Adeyanju, Gumi stated, "Some people are just mischievous; they do what they do to get a visa. Sorry, they are not needed there."

This was after Adeyanju got appointed to the Board of the Katutu Civil Rights Center, an international civil rights organisation headquartered in New York City.

In an earlier post, Gumi slammed those circulating a video from a past conference in which he stated that Fulani herdsmen are going nowhere.

He wrote, "Four years ago, during Buhari’s administration, I delivered a lecture at ABU Zaria on how to tackle insecurity. Part of that lecture is now being circulated by some unscrupulous individuals to provoke emotions, as they often do whenever my near-prophetic warning about the consequences of leaving a large segment of the population unengaged and without the basic education necessary for responsible statehood begins to manifest.

"It is foolish to turn your neighbour into your enemy, because foreign actors seeking your resources can exploit such divisions to destabilise your country. We have already seen examples elsewhere, such as Kurdish rebels allegedly being armed against their own state.

"I can only conclude that some sections of the country do not genuinely want peace to return to our nation. They raise alarm only when the crisis affects them directly."