Islamic cleric Sheikh Gumi has described the kidnapping of schoolchildren as a “lesser evil” than killing troops, arguing that Nigeria must deal with robbers to avoid further bloodshed.
In an interview with the BBC published on Tuesday, Gumi stated that while kidnapping minors is “evil,” it is less serious than murder, especially in cases where stolen children are subsequently released safely.
“Saying that kidnapping children is a lesser evil than killing your soldiers definitely is lesser. Killing is worse than them, but they are all evil. It’s just a lesser evil. Not all evils are of the same power.
He referenced earlier events, such as the mass kidnapping in Kebbi State, contending that the victims were released unharmed.
“So it’s a lesser evil than, like, what happened in Kebbi. They abducted children, and they were released. They didn’t kill them.”
Gumi’s comment comes as over 315 individuals—comprising 303 students and 12 teachers—were kidnapped in Niger State.
On December 7, the Federal Government declared the liberation of 100 students, while a prior report verified the escape of 50 more just days post-kidnapping.
“It’s an evil, and we pray that they escape,” Gumi responded briefly when asked what he would say to their parents.
He also defended his long-held stance that negotiating with bandits is unavoidable, describing engagement with bandits and other non-state actors as a practical strategy to secure peace and save lives, and noting that “everybody negotiates with bandits.”
“That word [‘we don’t negotiate’], I don’t know where they got it from. It’s not in the Bible. It’s not in the Quran.
“In fact, it’s not even in practice. Everybody’s negotiating with outlaws, non-state actors, everybody. So who got it, and where did they get that knowledge from? We negotiate for peace and our strategic interests. If negotiation will bring a stoppage to bloodshed, we will do it.”
The controversial cleric emphasized that his past engagements with bandits were not carried out secretly or independently.
“I go there with the authorities. I don’t go there alone. And I go there with the press,” he said.
Gumi disclosed that his most recent face-to-face interactions with bandit groups occurred in 2021, noting that he put in extensive efforts to unite different factions, but the federal government then “was not interested” in the initiative.
He stated that as soon as the groups were officially labeled as terrorists, he entirely ceased all communication.
Regarding the broader security landscape, the ex-army captain contended that Nigeria’s armed forces cannot bear the responsibility by themselves.
“We need a robust army… But even the military is saying our role in this civil unrest, in this criminality, is 95% kinetic. The rest is the government, the politics, and the locals. The military cannot do everything.”
Gumi also asserted that the majority of bandits are Fulani herdsmen rather than urban Fulani, emphasizing the need to differentiate between the two. He characterized their fight as based on survival and livestock management:
“They are fighting an existential war… Their life revolves around cattle. In fact, they inherit them. They’ll tell you, ‘This cow I inherited from my grandfather.’ They are mostly Fulani herdsmen, not the Fulani town, because you have to differentiate between the two.”
