Abduljelil IssaIslamic scholar, Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Mahmud Gumi, has urged the Federal Government to immediately suspend all military cooperation with the United States following reported airstrikes against ISIS terrorist elements in Nigeria.
Gumi made the call in a statement posted on his Facebook page, where he sharply criticised the involvement of the United States in military operations on Nigerian soil, describing it as a threat to the nation’s sovereignty and internal unity.
While acknowledging that combating terrorism is an obligation in Islam, Gumi argued that such efforts must be undertaken by what he termed “clean and holy hands,” not by foreign powers he accused of having a history marked by the killing of innocent civilians.
“Annihilating terrorists is an Islamic obligation,” he said, citing a prophetic tradition. “But it should only be carried out by clean, holy hands, not by another terrorist whose hands are stained with the blood of hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women and men.”
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According to Gumi, Nigeria erred by allowing foreign military involvement, insisting that “terrorists do not fight terrorists in truth,” but instead end up killing innocent people while pursuing hidden agendas.
He warned that no country should allow its territory to become a battleground or permit foreign powers to turn neighbouring nations into enemies, adding that U.S. involvement would draw anti-American forces into Nigeria.
“The U.S. involvement in Nigeria will attract real anti-U.S. forces, making our land a theatre of war,” he said. “Coming under the pretext of ‘protecting Christians’ will polarise our nation and infringe on our sovereignty.”
Gumi suggested that if Nigeria needed external military support, it should seek assistance from what he described as neutral countries such as China, Turkey and Pakistan, which he said could offer help without geopolitical complications.
He further alleged that the reported bombing in Sokoto State was symbolic and politically driven, questioning why an area he claimed is largely Muslim and not a major terrorism hotspot was targeted, while places like Maiduguri remain key flashpoints.
“The attack on Sokoto, where over 90 per cent are Muslims, on Christmas Eve, with claims of protecting against Christian genocide, says a lot,” he said. “We believe the terror is manufactured and sustained by the same people claiming to fight it.”
Gumi also maintained that airstrikes alone cannot solve Nigeria’s security challenges, stressing that only sustained ground operations can effectively defeat terrorism.
“Dropping a few bombs here and there cannot tackle the menace of terror. It requires serious military operations on the ground, and if we are serious, we have enough men to do that,” he stated.
He called on communities affected by the strikes to document and share evidence of any casualties, while warning that the development could become a major political issue ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Describing the strikes as evidence of what he termed a “neo-Crusade against Islam,” Gumi urged Nigerians to remain vigilant, concluding: “A word is enough for the wise.”