PFN Slams Gumi’s ‘Staged Funerals’ Comments as Insensitive and Irresponsible
The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) has strongly condemned Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s recent allegations that Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt are staging funerals to fabricate claims of genocide. In a statement by PFN National Publicity Secretary Dr. Sylvanus Ukafia, the Christian body called Gumi’s claim “baseless, inflammatory, and morally reprehensible,” dismissing the idea as illogical and unsupported by any credible evidence. Gumi had alleged that Christians were burying empty coffins to create a false narrative of targeted killings. PFN rebuffed this, explaining that funerals in Nigerian culture—whether Christian, Muslim, or traditional—are communal, deeply rooted rites not prone to fraudulent staging. The group argued that such a scheme would be impossible to conceal, as public burials require real families and witnesses. PFN accused Gumi of spreading misinformation to trivialize genuine suffering and undermine documented terrorist violence in the region. […]