NEWS
Moroccan Woman’s Disappearance: Husband Accuses Sheikh Gumi of Interference as Cleric Threatens Defamation Suit
A brewing dispute over the whereabouts and welfare of a Moroccan woman married to a Nigerian man has taken a dramatic turn, with her husband, Nasiru Musa Idris, accusing Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi of interfering in his marriage and frustrating efforts by security agencies to investigate what he described as the abduction of his wife.
Idris made the allegations during an interview with RFI Hausa, claiming that the controversy began after he introduced his Moroccan wife to Gumi and later sought the cleric’s assistance over issues concerning their marriage.
However, Gumi has strongly denied the allegations and threatened to take legal action against Idris for defamation.
According to Idris, he first met Gumi at a pharmacy on Isa Kaita Road in Kaduna while he was there with members of his family. He said he subsequently introduced his Moroccan wife to the cleric.
Idris explained that his wife had no previous connection to Nigeria before their marriage and that he personally travelled to Morocco to seek her hand in marriage.
He maintained that the marriage was conducted with the consent of her parents and the approval of relevant authorities, including the Nigerian embassy.
“For Dr Gumi, I believe in him because of his character as a religious scholar and leader. I met him at a pharmacy on Isa Kaita Road with my family.
“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.
The husband said tensions escalated when Gumi allegedly asked him to obtain another marriage certificate from a Sharia Court, despite the couple already possessing documentation relating to their marriage in both Morocco and Nigeria.
Idris said he informed the cleric that he had obtained relevant documents from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigerian embassy in Morocco, alongside other documentation and a police character report.
“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 further alleged that Gumi subsequently became involved in efforts to separate him from his wife and sought to prevent security agencies from investigating what he described as her disappearance.
Idris called on the Islamic scholar to respond to a police invitation so that the allegations could be investigated by the appropriate 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,” he said.
In one of the most serious claims in the dispute, Idris alleged that his wife had remained in Gumi’s custody for approximately 11 months.
“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,” he alleged.
Idris also rejected suggestions that his wife’s mother had travelled to Nigeria and taken her daughter back to Morocco.
He said he was the person who processed the necessary documentation that enabled his wife to travel to Nigeria following their marriage.
According to him, he took his wife to Gumi after the cleric requested that she be brought to him for counselling because of her age.
“Because I trusted him, I took her there. From then on, whenever I called, she did not answer the phone,” he alleged.
But in a response to Weekend Trust, Gumi dismissed Idris’ allegations and indicated that he would challenge them in court.
The cleric declined to provide extensive details, citing the fact that the matter was already before a court, but he categorically rejected the accusations against him.
Gumi said the Moroccan woman had already left Nigeria and returned to Morocco, where, according to him, she was staying happily with her parents.
“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.
“I don’t want to say much on an issue already in court, but I will sue him for defamation,” Gumi said.
The cleric’s position was further defended by Malam Nasiru Ayuba, popularly known as Dan Agaji, chairman of the Volunteers of Sultan Bello Mosque in Kaduna and Gumi’s personal assistant on special assignment.
Ayuba denied Idris’ allegation that Gumi kept the woman in his residence, insisting that she approached the cleric herself to seek assistance over a personal matter.
“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,” Ayuba said.
He explained that Gumi became involved after the Moroccan woman reportedly sought assistance and indicated that she could go anywhere if she did not receive help.
“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 urged Gumi’s supporters to remain patient while the legal process runs its course, alleging that the cleric had been subjected to attacks and attempts to damage his reputation on social media.
“He only wants to tarnish Malam’s image on the social media,” he alleged.
The cleric’s aide also suggested that Gumi’s camp possessed information about Idris that it had so far chosen not to make public.
“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 competing accounts have now placed the circumstances surrounding the Moroccan woman’s marriage, her departure from Nigeria and Gumi’s involvement under intense scrutiny, with both sides presenting sharply different versions of events.
While Idris is demanding an investigation into what he describes as the disappearance and alleged mistreatment of his wife, Gumi maintains that the woman is safely in Morocco with her parents and has in
dicated that he will pursue a defamation case against the husband.