The president of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Northern Nigeria, John Hayab, has slammed Kaduna-based cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi for claiming he was told Christians in Northern-Central are burying empty coffins to stage genocide.

Mr Hayab, on Wednesday, told Peoples Gazette Mr Gumi had resorted to lying and manipulation to mislead his followers and the public.

“It is sad that Gumi has chosen the part of lies, the part of what he is accusing others of doing, manipulation of truth, and misleading a larger followers of his into believing what is not,” Mr Hayab said.

He added, “Can Gumi be honest to Christians in the north and tell them what led to this wide division in 1986? Gumi knows the story. We don’t want to say it, but let him, Gumi, tell what exactly happened.”

Debunking Mr Gumi’s statement, the CAN leader said, “How on earth can Christians do what he is saying that they did? We’ve suffered so much in Nigeria, and what we are asking is that the government stop the killings. Whoever is behind the killings, the government should go after him.”

He added, “But when people who probably sympathise with terrorists choose to twist stories to accuse others, we will leave it that way.”

Mr Hayab also said Mr Gumi is twisting stories because there are consequences for lying to the public.

This comes as a response to Mr Gumi’s Facebook post on Wednesday, in which he said he was informed that Christians are burying empty coffins and recording and circulating the video of mass killings.

“A doctor wrote me: “Do you know that some Middle Belt Christian groups are now staging fake mass killings? They are burying empty coffins and recording the process as if real victims were killed, just to push the narrative of a Christian genocide,” Mr Gumi said.

Last month, American President Donald Trump declared Nigeria a Country of Particular Concern amid global outrage over alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria, a campaign led by American lawmakers, including Ted Cruz, Riley Moore, Nancy Mace, and others.

The American president also threatened military invasion to kill off rampaging bandits and terrorists killing Christians in Nigeria should the Tinubu government fail to act fast in stopping the killings.