Sheik Gumi To Be Arrested Over Alleged Pro-Bandit Comments

Gumi has remained one of Nigeria’s most controversial religious figures due to his long-standing involvement in negotiations with armed groups in northern forests.

Over the years, the cleric visited camps controlled by kidnappers and bandits in Zamfara, Kaduna and Niger states, claiming his objective was to persuade fighters to surrender and embrace peace.

The cleric gained national attention during the wave of school kidnappings between 2020 and 2022, when he acted as an intermediary in negotiations involving abducted students and kidnapped victims.

Supporters argue that his engagement with armed groups helped secure the release of hostages and opened channels for dialogue in areas where military operations had struggled. Critics, however, accuse him of normalizing criminality and portraying terrorists as victims deserving sympathy

Human rights lawyer and activist, Deji Adeyanju, has called on the President Bola Tinubu-led government to immediately arrest controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, over what he described as inflammatory comments allegedly sympathetic to bandits terrorising parts of Nigeria.

Adeyanju made the demand on Wednesday following the circulation of a viral video in which Gumi was heard speaking about Fulani herders amid worsening insecurity across the country.

In the video, the cleric reportedly said Fulani herdsmen “are going nowhere,” insisting that “they are part of us and we are part of them. We must live with them.” Reacting through a post on his Facebook page, Adeyanju said individuals who sympathise with terrorists should be treated as terrorists.

“People like Gumi can only survive in a country without a government. Terrorists sympathizers are terrorists,” he wrote.

He further alleged that the cleric’s public comments and actions were encouraging terrorism and undermining national security efforts.

“His words and actions promote terrorism in Nigeria. I call on the government to arrest him to serve as a deterrent to others,” Adeyanju added.