Saudi Arabia Barrs Islamic Cleric Sheikh Gumi From Hajj 2025, Deports Him to Nigeria

By: Olufemi Orunsola 

Reports reaching the news desk of OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News have it that Saudi Arabian authorities have barred popular Kaduna-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi from participating in the 2025 Hajj exercise, consequently deporting him to Nigeria.

OTN News further reports that the Nigerian Islamic Cleric made a disclosure confirming the experience via a post on his verified Facebook page on Monday.

Sheikh Gumi confirmed that although the Saudi government had issued him a visa, he was denied entry into Medina upon arrival and was subsequently deported.

Gumi stated that, "Due to some reasons related to my views on world politics, the authorities in Saudi Arabia do not want me to be present at Hajj even though they have granted me a visa."

He, however, expressed appreciation to Nigerian authorities for pledging to engage with their Saudi counterparts to resolve the matter.

Meanwhile, efforts to obtain an official statement about this development from both the Islamic Council of Nigeria and the National Hajj Commission failed to yield any significant results as atbthe time of filing this report.