The controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has come under fire from the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) for his recent comments on Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi.
In a conversation with media, Gumi claimed that the appearance of the former governor of Anambra State as LP candidate had quelled the Biafra agitation.
However, the group rejected the cleric’s comment and demanded that he explain his role in last Tuesday’s attack on the Kuje detention facility in Abuja in a statement released on Tuesday by its President, Uchenna Madu.
MASSOB said that despite Obi becoming the LP’s presidential nominee, the pro-Biafran Republic movement has not subsided because its members and other agitators were engaged in the battle for self-determination even before calls for an Igbo president.
It was also stated that even if Obi were elected president, the movement for a Biafra Republic would continue.
“We can never be cowed or intimidated by the chief patron and negotiator of Fulani terrorist movement ravaging the entire Northern region and the rest of Nigeria in pursuit of President Muhammadu Buhari’s agenda of Islamising Nigeria.
“If Nigerians elect Peter Obi based on his competency and pedigree as their new president, does it concern MASSOB? It’s not our business. Mr. Peter Obi is not the first person to contest presidential election since September 1999 when we started the MASSOB non- violent self-determination struggle. Why attaching him to us now?
“MASSOB advises Shiekh Gumi to explain his role and other Fulani cabals in the terrorist attack and breaking of Kuje prisons in Abuja. Don’t use Mr Peter Obi and pro Biafra agitation to divert attentions.”
