NIGERIA’s secret police has confirmed the invitation of Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi.

The State Security Service (SSS) spokesperson Peter Afunanya told The ICIR  via a text message that Gumi was invited on Friday, saying that anybody of interest could be invited at any time.

“The Service invited Sheikh Gumi. And it is not out of place to invite any person of interest,” Afunanya said.

The invitation is coming after the cleric had alleged, during a television interview, that some security officials were working with bandits in Nigeria.

While referring to the alleged ‘cooperation’ as a business, Gumi had said that “they were caught in Zamfara, they were caught everywhere.”

“How can these big weapons cross our borders and get into the forests without the cooperation of ‘some’ bad elements in the security system?” the Islamic scholar had asked during the interview on Arise TV on Wednesday.

A response from the Nigerian Army was released through the Director of Army Public Relations Onyema Nwachukwu, a brigadier, on Wednesday.

The Army’s statement had denied the allegation, calling it “a calculated attempt to denigrate the Nigerian military and undermine the sacrifices of patriotic troops who are working tirelessly to restore peace and stability across the country.”

The ICIR had reported that Sheikh Gumi earlier accused the Nigerian government of taking sides in what he described as an ‘inter-tribal war going on in the country.’

He is known for advocating that the government reach out to the bandits and grant them amnesty, a plea that has been pushed back by critics.