The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) on Saturday condemned remarks made by Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who claimed that Christians in the Middle Belt were staging funerals to fabricate a narrative of genocide.
The PFN described Gumi’s comments as insensitive, irresponsible, and morally reprehensible.
Gumi had alleged that Christians in the Middle Belt were burying empty coffins to create a false impression of genocide. Responding, the PFN, through its National Publicity Secretary Dr. Sylvanus Ukafia, issued a statement titled “Rebuttal of Ahmad Gumi’s False and Dangerous Claim”, calling the allegation baseless, inflammatory, and easily disprovable.
The statement reads in part, “We strongly condemn the recent statement by Ahmad Gumi alleging that Christians in the Middle Belt are ‘burying empty coffins’ to fabricate a narrative of genocide.
“This claim is baseless, inflammatory, and collapses under the slightest scrutiny.
“Across Nigerian cultures, Christian, Muslim, and traditional, there is no practice of burying empty coffins. Funerals are communal, identity-based rites anchored on real names, families, and histories. The notion that entire communities could stage fake burials without a single whistleblower or inconsistency is both illogical and deeply insulting.
“Gumi’s allegation relies entirely on an unnamed ‘doctor’ without any verifiable details: no name, no location, no evidence, no photos, no timestamps. This is hearsay presented as fact.
“If such mass staging truly occurred, who dug the graves? Who carried the coffins? Who documented the events? Why has no participant, villager, or bystander ever come forward? Public burials cannot be faked without multiple witnesses, yet Gumi provides not a single shred of proof.
“His claim also contradicts reality: Nigeria has already witnessed thousands of real victims of terrorism and banditry, with casualties well-documented by humanitarian groups, international observers, satellite images, and media reports. There is no need to ‘invent’ deaths.
“This statement fits a disturbing pattern in which Gumi downplays or denies targeted killings of Christians, now attempting to delegitimise genuine suffering with a dangerous narrative timed to counter rising global concern, including condemnations by U.S. lawmakers.
“This is not analysis; it is propaganda. Such misinformation trivialises real loss, fuels division, and distracts from ongoing violence. To suggest that grieving communities are staging funerals is insensitive, irresponsible, and morally reprehensible.
“We call for restraint, truthfulness, and compassion in public commentary, especially on matters involving human lives and national security.”