Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has refuted reports suggesting that he claimed the United States targeted him for elimination during recent airstrikes against terrorists in Sokoto State.
Gumi clarified that an old video currently circulating online, in which he spoke about threats to his life, was taken out of context and actually referred to an alleged attempt by the Boko Haram group to kill him in 2012.
In a statement shared on his official Facebook page on Sunday, the cleric said his life is not presently under any threat, stressing that claims to the contrary are inaccurate.
He added that it was divine intervention that saved him from those who once sought to kill him under the guise of Boko Haram.
He wrote, “There is fake news going viral now that wrongly claims that I said I was targeted by the US attack on Nigerian soil, or something to that effect.
“I never said so, and I also never thought of such a possibility. I am comfortably staying in my home with my family without fear, intimidation, or apprehension.
“I believe the source of misinterpretation was a lecture I gave in the mosque on how, in August 2012, I was told that Boko Haram had targeted me for elimination.
“The two people who came to execute the plan were killed instantly when the bomb detonated in their hands near my house.
“I advise all news agencies that reported the fake news to publicly retract it and tender their apologies.”
