Premium News
Controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has again stirred public outrage after insisting that the abduction of schoolchildren by armed groups remains a “lesser evil” compared to the killing of Nigerian soldiers, even as he condemned both acts as unacceptable.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Gumi said while kidnapping is an “evil,” it is not as grave as attacks on military personnel.
“I think part of what I said then is correct and part of it wrong,” he noted, referring to his widely criticised 2021 remarks.
“Saying kidnapping children is a lesser evil than killing soldiers, definitely it is lesser. But all of them are evil. All evils are not the same.”
His comments come at a time when Nigeria is reeling from a resurgence of mass abduction of schoolchildren in Kebbi and Niger states, heightening concerns over national security and the safety of children.
Gumi also used the interview to address long-standing accusations that he maintains relationships with bandit groups.
The cleric denied any contact with them since 2021, saying his earlier engagements were undertaken openly and with the knowledge of security agencies and local authorities.
“I never went there alone,” he said. “It was in 2021 when I was trying to see how we could bring them together. But the federal government was not interested. They declared them terrorists and since then we disengaged totally.”
Gumi described the armed groups destabilising the northwest, and increasingly parts of the southwest, as predominantly “Fulani herdsmen” fighting what he called an “existential war” to protect their livelihoods.
“They want to exist. Their life immemorial is cattle rearing,” he said, adding that pressures on grazing routes have pushed many into violent conflict.
For years, the cleric has been criticised as a “bandit sympathiser” for publicly advocating negotiations and for earlier field engagements in forests controlled by armed groups. His critics accuse him of emboldening criminals and undermining state authority.
He has rejected the claims.
