Man Alleges Gumi Kept Moroccan Wife After Counselling Session

A Kaduna man, Nasiru Musa Idris, has accused 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.

Idris made the allegation during an interview with RFI Hausa, saying he trusted Gumi as a religious scholar and took his young wife to him after the cleric asked to counsel her.

He alleged that his wife stopped answering his calls after the meeting. He also claimed that attempts to get security agencies to investigate the matter were obstructed.

Idris said he had remained separated from his wife since the incident and wanted authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding their separation.

“For 11 months now, my wife has been in his hands through injustice and ill-treatment,” he alleged.

Gumi, however, denied the allegation and said the Moroccan woman had already left Nigeria for Morocco.

Speaking to Daily Trust, the cleric declined to discuss the matter in detail because it was already before a court. He nevertheless threatened to sue Idris for defamation.

“But I will take him to court for defamation against me,” Gumi said.

On the whereabouts of the woman, he added that “she has already left Nigeria and she is in Morocco happily with her parents.”

Idris said he first met Gumi at a pharmacy on Isa Kaita Road in Kaduna while he was with members of his family. He later introduced his Moroccan wife to the cleric.

According to him, his wife had never known anyone in Nigeria before their marriage.

He said he travelled to Morocco to seek her hand in marriage, with the approval of her parents and relevant authorities.

“The Moroccan girl had never known anyone in Nigeria and nobody knew her except through me,” Idris said.

The man claimed that the dispute started after Gumi allegedly asked him to obtain another marriage certificate from a Sharia Court.

Idris said he rejected the request because the couple already had marriage documents issued in Morocco and Nigeria.

“I told him that I did not agree with the marriage certificate he told me to obtain,” he alleged.

He further claimed that Gumi later went to the Sharia Court in Malali and requested another certificate.

Idris said he had presented documents supporting the marriage, including papers from the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian embassy in Morocco.

He also mentioned other supporting documents and a police character report which, he said, established the circumstances of the marriage.

Idris further alleged that Gumi later sought to separate the couple and interfered with attempts by security agencies to investigate the matter.

He therefore called on the cleric to respond to a police invitation and submit himself to investigation.

“My complaint is that he should come forward and answer the invitation of the police so that an investigation can be conducted,” he said.

Idris also disputed claims that his wife’s mother travelled to Nigeria and took her daughter back to Morocco.

He maintained that he personally processed the documents that enabled his wife to travel to Nigeria.

He said he took her to Gumi only because the cleric had requested to counsel her, adding that he trusted him because of his standing as an Islamic scholar.

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

Meanwhile, Malam Nasiru Ayuba, popularly known as Dan Agaji, rejected the allegation that Gumi kept the woman in his house.

Ayuba, chairman of the Volunteers of Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna and Gumi’s personal assistant on special assignment, said the woman approached the cleric herself for help.

“The allegation that Malam kept his wife in his house is not true,” Ayuba said.

He claimed that the Moroccan woman approached Gumi over a personal problem and sought his 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 said.

Ayuba also accused Idris of attempting to damage Gumi’s reputation through social media.

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

He said Gumi’s supporters would not disclose details of Idris’ private affairs unless circumstances made such disclosure necessary.

“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.

The allegations and counterclaims have now become part of a legal dispute, with Idris calling for a police investigation and Gumi threatening legal action over the accusations.