Cleric trying to stop northerners from taking COVID-19 vaccine should be arrested — Gumi

As Coronavirus continues to kill people globally, popular Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Abubakar Mahmoud Gumi has called for arrest and punishment of any Muslim cleric preaching to people, especially northerners, not to receive Coronavirus vaccine, should one be found.

Gumi advised Muslim clerics to desist from misleading people not to take the vaccine if brought to Nigeria.

Gumi said: “We Northerners shouldn’t behave the same way we did with polio myelitis, where people were misled into believing polio vaccine would prevent them from having children.”

He said though the vaccine was yet to arrive, some persons were already claiming it would kill people, adding:  “That was how we did with polio. Not until the government counselled people for 10 years before they accepted the vaccine. That has been a problem in the North. Our learned scholars instil fear in people. They have started again. If scientists find a cure for COVID-19, no Malam should preach to people to reject it.”

Gumi warned the scourge was real, saying: “Everybody in the world is affected by this virus, regardless of religion and tribe. There’s no disease brought by Allah that has no cure. The world is searching for a cure. Islamic clerics among us are advising we should be careful and avoid any drug named as a vaccine to COVID-19, as Northerners could be given drugs that would kill them…”

“I am saying that, if the government plans to vaccinate people, they should not reject it. No Mallam should scare people from taking the vaccine. We are very sure the government must have tested the drug and seen it to be okay for people to use. There are guidelines and procedures to determine the safety of vaccines. If any Mallam is found doing so, he should be arrested and punished…” (The Guardian)