Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has sparked controversy again by defending bandits terrorizing northern Nigeria, describing their violent attacks as acts of revenge rather than unprovoked brutality. In an interview on Trust TV, Gumi insisted that these groups, including Fulani herdsmen, do not attack without cause but are responding to long-standing grievances and hostilities from government policies and local communities.
Gumi referenced a government delegation led by former Bauchi State governor Isa Yuguda, which met with over 5,000 bandits in the bush, all expressing complaints and grievances over the loss of family members and other hostilities they have suffered. The cleric acknowledged that the killings perpetrated by these groups are “wrong and obnoxious,” but emphasized that viewing their actions as purely criminal misses their underlying motivation.
The Islamic cleric said, “Yes, I know they have killed, and it’s wrong to kill anybody innocent. This is absolutely an obnoxious thing to do. We don’t support that. But you see, if you know their psychology, they are on a revenge mission.”
He further noted that Fulani herdsmen have coexisted peacefully with other ethnic groups for centuries and only resort to violence as a reaction to perceived injustices. “Everybody knows the herdsmen, as well as the Fulani herdsmen. They don’t just attack people. We have been living with them for centuries. They don’t attack people without any cause,” he said.
Advocating for a shift away from military confrontation, Gumi urged the Nigerian government under President Bola Tinubu to focus on unifying and rehabilitating these armed groups. “What I think the government needs to do is to really bring them together in a unison and in a holistic form so that there is peace. They are ready for that, because if you call them for peace, they come,” he asserted.
In a pointed comparison, Gumi distinguished bandits from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), criticizing IPOB for rejecting government dialogue and persistently pursuing secession. “It’s unlike the others like IPOB. The government has been trying to dialogue with them; they still refuse. They are still behind creating a separate state. They are secessionists. Besides being terrorists, they are secessionists. Well, these people (bandits) are not secessionists. They want peace,” the cleric remarked.
Sheikh Gumi’s remarks come amid ongoing national debates about security strategies, the role of dialogue versus military action, and the complex socio-political dynamics in Nigeria’s troubled northern regions. His stance defending bandits as victims of systemic injustice and victims of “revenge missions” continues to evoke strong reactions from various sectors of Nigerian society.
