Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has described the kidnapping of schoolchildren as a “lesser evil” compared to the killing of soldiers, urging the Nigerian government to engage bandits in negotiations to prevent further bloodshed.
In an interview with the BBC shared on Tuesday, Gumi acknowledged that abducting minors is “evil,” but argued it is less severe than murder, particularly in cases where children are eventually released unharmed.
He cited previous incidents, including a mass abduction in Kebbi State, in which all victims were freed.
“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 said.
His comments come days after more than 315 people — including 303 students and 12 teachers — were abducted in Niger State.
The Federal Government announced on December 7 that 100 students had been released, while 50 others escaped shortly after the kidnapping.
Asked what he would say to parents of abducted children, Gumi said: “It’s an evil, and we pray that they escape.”
The cleric also defended his longstanding position that negotiating with bandits is necessary, describing engagement with non-state actors as a practical strategy to save lives.
“Everybody negotiates 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,” he said.
READ ALSO: Insecurity: One million Tucano jets can’t end banditry, says Prof Usman, Sheikh Gumi
Gumi stressed that his past negotiations with bandits were conducted openly with government authorities and the press.
He last met directly with bandit groups in 2021, but withdrew from contact once the groups were officially designated as terrorists.
On the wider security situation, Gumi argued that Nigeria’s military alone cannot address the crisis. “Even the military is saying our role in this civil unrest is 95% kinetic. The rest is the government, the politics, and the locals. The military cannot do everything,” he said.
He further clarified that most bandits are Fulani herdsmen, not urban Fulani, framing their actions as an existential struggle linked to cattle rearing.
Gumi’s remarks highlight the tension between dialogue and enforcement in addressing kidnappings, banditry, and violence in northwest Nigeria, where insecurity continues to disrupt communities.