Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Gabriel Osa
Prominent Nigerian Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has denied allegations that he kept a Kaduna man's Moroccan wife away from him for 11 months after the couple sought his intervention over marital difficulties.
The dispute, involving Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi and Kaduna-based businessman Nasiru Musa Idris, resurfaced publicly on 5 September 2026 after Idris alleged that his wife, Moroccan national Khadija Diab, had been separated from him since September 2025. Gumi rejected the accusation, saying the woman had left Nigeria and was living in Morocco with her parents, while also indicating that he intended to pursue a defamation case against Idris.
The allegations have drawn significant attention because of Gumi's prominence as an Islamic scholar and public figure in northern Nigeria. However, the competing accounts have not been independently established as fact, and aspects of the dispute are already the subject of legal proceedings.
Idris said he had trusted Gumi and took his wife to the cleric after being asked to bring her for counselling. According to his account, his wife subsequently stopped responding to his telephone calls, and he has since been unable to reunite with her.
Speaking in an interview reported by RFI Hausa, Idris alleged that his wife had remained beyond his reach for approximately 11 months. He accused Gumi of interfering in his marriage and called for the cleric to cooperate with investigations by security agencies.
According to Idris, he first encountered Gumi at a pharmacy on Isa Kaita Road in Kaduna, where he later introduced his Moroccan wife to the cleric. He maintained that his wife had no previous relationship with Gumi and that their marriage had been conducted with the knowledge and approval of her family.
Idris said he travelled to Morocco to seek the woman's hand in marriage and completed the necessary marriage and immigration documentation before bringing her to Nigeria. He has consistently maintained that the couple were legally married.
The businessman alleged that the dispute later developed over questions surrounding his marriage documentation. He claimed that Gumi had encouraged him to obtain another marriage certificate through a Sharia Court despite his assertion that he already possessed valid documents relating to the marriage.
But Gumi has strongly rejected the allegation that he kept the woman in his custody or prevented her from returning to her husband. In comments reported by Nigerian media, the cleric said the woman was no longer in Nigeria and had returned to Morocco.
Gumi also declined to provide extensive details about the dispute, citing the existence of legal proceedings. He said he intended to take legal action against Idris over what he described as defamatory allegations.
The dispute is not entirely new. Court documents and reports published in July showed that Idris had filed several complaints involving Gumi, members of his family and other individuals in courts in Kaduna State. The complaints contained serious allegations, including claims concerning the alleged wrongful confinement of his wife and interference in his marriage.
The legal filings reportedly included cases before the Chief Magistrate Courts in Barnawa and Kabala Doki, as well as proceedings before a Sharia Court in Kaduna. The allegations outlined in the complaints have not been established in court as proven facts.
According to reports based on the court documents, Idris said he married Khadija Diab in October 2024 and subsequently brought her to Nigeria. He claimed that events leading to the current dispute began in September 2025.
Idris alleged that he received a request to bring his wife to Gumi for counselling after concerns were reportedly raised about their marriage. He said he agreed because of his trust in Gumi as a respected religious figure.
He alleged that after taking his wife to the cleric's residence, he was persuaded to leave her there and later found himself unable to regain access to her. Gumi and those associated with him have disputed the allegations.
Malam Nasiru Ayuba, also known as Dan Agaji, who has been identified as a chairman of the Volunteers of Sultan Bello Mosque and an assistant to Gumi, denied that the cleric kept Idris' wife at his residence.
Ayuba said the woman had personally approached Gumi for assistance over a problem she was facing. According to his account, Gumi intervened in the matter and subsequently took the dispute through legal channels.
He accused Idris of attempting to damage the cleric's reputation through social media and rejected the claim that Gumi had unlawfully kept the Moroccan woman.
The contrasting accounts leave major questions unanswered, including the circumstances under which the woman left Nigeria and the nature of the legal dispute involving the couple and Gumi.
There are also differing accounts regarding the woman's current whereabouts. While Idris has disputed claims that she voluntarily returned to Morocco with her family, Gumi has said that she is in Morocco and living with her parents.
The woman herself has not publicly given a detailed account of the dispute in the reports reviewed by Stone Reporters News. Her personal position and wishes therefore remain central unanswered questions in a controversy that has largely been presented through the accounts of her husband, the cleric and their respective representatives.
The case has also highlighted the importance of distinguishing allegations from judicial findings. Idris' claims against Gumi and others have been made publicly and through legal complaints, but the existence of a complaint does not by itself establish criminal or civil liability.
Similarly, Gumi's denial represents his response to the allegations and does not, on its own, resolve the competing claims surrounding the circumstances of the marriage dispute.
Gumi is one of Nigeria's most widely recognised Islamic clerics and has remained a controversial public figure because of his involvement in discussions surrounding insecurity and armed banditry in north-western Nigeria. His public statements on dialogue with armed groups have frequently generated national debate.
That public profile has contributed to the intense attention surrounding the latest allegations. But the seriousness of the claims also makes careful verification essential.
The dispute now appears to involve both personal and legal questions, with court filings already reported months before Idris's latest public allegations. The precise status and outcome of those proceedings were not immediately clear from the latest reports.
Idris has continued to call for an investigation, maintaining that Gumi should respond to invitations from relevant authorities if there is a case requiring examination. Gumi, meanwhile, has said he will defend himself against the allegations and pursue legal action for defamation.
As of 5 September 2026, there was no publicly available court judgment establishing that Gumi unlawfully detained or took Idris' wife. There was also no independently verified evidence in the available reports resolving the conflicting claims over her current location.
For now, the case remains a bitter and unresolved dispute between a prominent religious cleric and a man who says his marriage was unlawfully disrupted. Further developments in the courts, or a public statement from the woman at the centre of the controversy, could provide greater clarity.
Until then, the allegations and denials remain competing accounts in a case that has moved from a private marital dispute into the national spotlight.
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