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.
Newsextra24 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.
