Man Accuses Gumi Of Keeping Moroccan Wife

A Nigerian man, Nasiru Musa Idris, has accused Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, of keeping his Moroccan wife away from him for about 11 months after he took her to the cleric for counselling.

Naija News reports that Gumi has, however, denied the allegation, saying the woman is no longer in Nigeria and has returned to Morocco to stay with her parents.

The cleric also threatened legal action against Idris for alleged defamation, while one of his aides maintained that the Moroccan woman voluntarily sought Gumi’s assistance over a personal matter.

Speaking during an interview with RFI Hausa, Idris said he trusted Gumi as an Islamic scholar and agreed to take his wife to him after the cleric offered to counsel her.

According to Idris, the woman had no previous relationship with Gumi and only became acquainted with him through their marriage.

“For 11 months now, my wife has been in his hands through injustice and ill-treatment. He has no relationship with her; she had never known him. The only place they knew each other was through me,” Idris alleged.

He said he first encountered the cleric at a pharmacy on Isa Kaita Road in Kaduna, accompanied by members of his family, and subsequently introduced his wife to him.

Idris claimed that his wife had no previous connections in Nigeria before their marriage.

“The Moroccan girl had never known anyone in Nigeria and nobody knew her except through me. I went to seek her hand in marriage in her country, and we had an engagement with the approval of the embassy and the approval of her parents,” he said.

Gumi rejected Idris’ account, telling Daily Trust that the Moroccan woman was no longer in Nigeria.

The cleric declined to discuss the circumstances surrounding the marital dispute in detail, citing an ongoing court case.

“But I will take him to court for defamation against me. As for the issue of the girl, she has already left Nigeria and she is in Morocco happily with her parents,” Gumi said.

He added, “I don’t want to say much on an issue already in court, but I will sue him for defamation.”

Gumi’s account directly contradicts Idris’ allegation that the cleric had kept the woman away from him. Idris said his disagreement with Gumi began over documentation relating to his marriage.

According to him, the cleric allegedly asked him to obtain another marriage certificate from a Sharia Court despite documents he said had already been issued in connection with the marriage in Morocco and Nigeria.

“I told him that I did not agree with the marriage certificate he told me to obtain. Later, he went to the Sharia Court in Malali and asked them to issue one to him,” Idris alleged.

He claimed he presented various documents to support the validity of his marriage, including paperwork involving the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian embassy in Morocco, along with other documents and a police character report.

Idris further claimed that he personally handled the documentation that allowed his wife to travel to Nigeria and only took her to Gumi because the cleric had requested an opportunity to counsel her.

He said his trust in Gumi and his wife’s youth influenced the decision.

“Because I trusted him, I took her there. From then on, whenever I called, she did not answer the phone,” he alleged.

Idris also rejected an account that his wife’s mother travelled to Nigeria and subsequently returned to Morocco with her daughter.

He alleged that attempts to involve security agencies in the matter had faced obstacles and called on Gumi to cooperate with the authorities.

“My complaint is that he should come forward and answer the invitation of the police so that an investigation can be conducted. If he is right, there is nothing stopping him from going to the authorities to clear his name,” Idris said.

No confirmation from the police establishing the existence or status of the alleged invitation was provided in the material available.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Volunteers of Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna and Gumi’s personal assistant on special assignment, Malam Nasiru Ayuba, popularly known as Dan Agaji, rejected Idris’ version of events.

Ayuba insisted that Gumi never kept the woman in his residence, claiming instead that she approached the cleric herself for assistance.

Ayuba said, “The allegation that Malam kept his wife in his house is not true. It was the woman herself who went to Malam to ask him for help.”

He claimed that the woman was experiencing a personal problem and sought Gumi’s intervention.

“She brought the matter herself because she knew what she was going through. Therefore, Malam did what he could and took the matter to court,” he added.

Ayuba also accused Idris of attempting to damage the cleric’s reputation through allegations circulated on social media.

“He only wants to tarnish Malam’s image on social media,” he alleged.

The aide said Gumi’s associates had information relating to the dispute but had chosen not to disclose details they considered private.

“We will not expose anyone’s secrets, but if it becomes necessary to expose the secrets, we will do so because we have everything recorded,” Ayuba said.