By Ayo Kehinde
Saudi authorities have deported a popular Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, to Nigeria, preventing his participation in the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage.
Sheikh Gumi was part of a delegation of Islamic scholars sponsored by the Nigerian Hajj Commission (NAHCON) to provide religious services during the Hajj.
Gumi arrived in Medina last Saturday, at about 10:30 pm aboard an Umza Air flight, alongside other clerics. However, he was stopped by Saudi immigration officials at the airport and denied entry.
Confirming the development on Monday in a post via his verified Facebook page, Sheikh Gumi said although the Saudi government had issued him a visa, but was denied entry into Medina upon arrival and was subsequently deported.
“Due to some reasons related to my views on world politics, the authorities in Saudi Arabia do not want me to be present at Hajj even though they have granted me a visa. I am grateful to the authorities in Nigeria who have pledged to engage with the Saudi authorities on this matter”, Gumi stated.
Gumi has in recent years advocated for dialogue and amnesty for bandits in Nigeria.
The Saudi government had in 2010, arrested and detained Sheikh Gumi for over six months over alleged links with the Nigerian underwear bomber, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
The arrest reportedly followed a request by the United States government, whose intelligence uncovered email correspondence between Gumi and Abdulmutallab shortly before the latter attempted to bomb a US-bound plane on December 25, 2009.
At the time, Gumi was first taken to Jeddah and later returned to Mecca, where he was placed under house arrest. His release came only after intervention by the Nigerian government.
