Saudi Arabia has stopped Kaduna-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi from performing the 2025 Hajj and deported him back to Nigeria.

Kaduna-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi confirmed this in a post made on Monday, May 26, 2025, via his Facebook page.

He said the Saudi government had granted him a visa to enter the country for Hajj, but he was not allowed to enter Medina to begin his religious duties.

“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,” Sheikh Gumi said in a post on his Facebook page.

He added, “I am grateful to the authorities in Nigeria who have pledged to engage with the Saudi authorities on this matter.”

According to findings, Sheikh Gumi is part of a delegation of scholars sponsored by the Nigerian Hajj Commission (NAHCON) to travel to Saudi Arabia for religious services.

Gumi arrived in Medina with other clerics last Saturday at around 10:30pm on an Umza Air flight, but upon arrival at the city’s airport, Saudi immigration officials prevented the cleric from entering the country.

Reports revealed that Sheikh Gumi has now returned to Nigeria to continue his daily activities, especially teaching.

On Friday President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu received the newly Crowned Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade, and members of his entourage at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Oba Abimbola Owoade visit marks his first official audience with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since his coronation on April 12, 2025.

The King and his entourage arrived at the Aso Rock Villa shortly after the Jumaat prayers, after which he had a closed-door meeting with the President, service chiefs and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.

“Your ascendance to the throne of your forefathers is historic; it’s the will of God and the hands of the people and you will be the first Alaafin to be here… I really appreciate your foresight for development, your humbleness and the fact that you are upholding the tradition, this inherited tradition and your ascension likewise. I myself as the divine will of the Almighty.”