Abdulrahaman Ahmad, son of Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has graduated from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), according to photographs and tributes circulating on social media.

The announcement drew attention on Sunday when former senator, Shehu Sani, posted a picture of Gumi and his son on X, offering congratulations.

“Sheikh Gumi’s son Abdulrahaman Ahmad, graduated from the Nigerian Defence Academy; Congratulations and wishing him all the best in the service to our country,” Sani wrote.

Sheikh Gumi, who himself once served in the Nigerian Army and retired as a captain, is widely known not only as a cleric but also for his controversial interventions in Nigeria’s security discourse.

Over the past decade, he has held high-profile meetings with armed bandits in forest hideouts and repeatedly urged government amnesty and dialogue as solutions to kidnappings and rural violence.

His frequent statements and mediation efforts have made him one of the most recognisable figures in the public debate on terrorism and banditry in northern Nigeria.

The graduation of his son into military service has therefore attracted public interest, given Gumi’s dual profile as both a former soldier and a cleric associated with outreach to non-state armed groups.

According reports, the official graduation ceremony for the new cadets is scheduled for September 27.

The photograph circulating online was taken during a pre-graduation programme.