Gumi Drags Facebook Users To Court Over Alleged Defamation, Death Threat
Popular Kaduna-Based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, has approached the Chief Magistrate Court of Kaduna State, seeking the issuance of a criminal direct complaint summons against two Facebook users, George Udom and Bello Isiaka, over alleged criminal conspiracy, attempted public disturbance and criminal defamation of character.
A copy of the court document, which shows that the application was filed before the Chief Magistrate Court of Kaduna State, sitting at Ibrahim Taiwo Road, Kaduna.
The matter, listed as Case No: KD Km 1685725, names Sheikh Gumi as the complainant, while George Udom and Bello Isiaka are listed as defendants.
In the application addressed to the Registrar of the court, the complainant urged the court to “cause a Criminal Direct Complainant summon to be issue in favour of the complainant and against the defendants George Udom and Bello Isiaka.”
According to the document, the complaint arose from an alleged Facebook publication made by the defendants on December 23, 2025.
The document stated that “on or about the 23rd December, 2025 at around 7:00am 10:00am the Defendants via their Facebook pages cause to and publish a Breaking News in a statement captioned: ‘If the Minister of Defence Christopher Musa don’t stop his military offensive against bandits, his entire family in Zango Katab in Southern Kaduna will be eliminated.’”
The application further identified the defendants’ Facebook accounts, stating that “the Defendants has as their Facebook user name George Udom, George Udom facebook.com with phone number 0803090****… and Bello Isiaka user name facebook.com… Bello Isiaka respectively.”
Sheikh Gumi told the court that his attention was drawn to the publication “with his picture posted to their world by 100 of callers suggesting that it was him that issued the statement as a threat directed to the Minister of Defence as a public servant.”
The document added that the publication suggested that the complainant “has threatened the public servant in person of Christopher Musa the current Minister of Defence in Nigeria whose duty among other is to maintain peace and order through the federation including and not limited to Kaduna State.”
The complainant also stated that, as “an Islamic Scholar known for preaching peace not only in Nigeria both globally,” the publication portrayed him “as a trouble maker capable of causing breach of the precious peace been enjoyed in Kaduna state over the years.”
He further argued that the publication was “suggestive as the first target in the event of any unforeseen criminal attacked occurred to any member of the family of the Defence Minister Christopher Musa and or in any part of Southern Kaduna.”
According to the filing, the alleged actions of the defendants offend “the provisions of sections 59, 57, 372, 116 and 117 of the Penal Code of Law 2017 of Kaduna State.”
The application was dated December 24, 2025, and was signed by solicitors to the complainant, including Suleiman Danlami Lere Esq., Ibrahim Ahmad Esq., I.H. Yahya Esq., and Saratu Nura Hassan Esq., of Suleiman D. Lere & Co., Kaduna.
The court is yet to fix a date for hearing on the application for the issuance of the criminal summons.
