Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has described the recent kidnappings of schoolchildren in Nigeria as a “lesser evil” compared to the killing of soldiers, stressing that negotiating with bandits is necessary to prevent further bloodshed.
In an interview with the BBC on Tuesday, Gumi acknowledged that abducting children is “evil” but argued it is less severe than murder, particularly when the children are eventually released unharmed.
“Saying that kidnapping children is a lesser evil than killing your soldiers, definitely is lesser. Killing is worse than, but they are all evil. It’s just a lesser evil. Not all evils are of the same power,” he said, citing past incidents such as the mass abduction in Kebbi State, where all victims were freed safely.
His comments come after over 315 people, including 303 students and 12 teachers, were abducted in Niger State. On December 7, the Federal Government announced the release of 100 students, while another 50 reportedly escaped days earlier.
Asked what he would say to the parents of the abducted children, Gumi replied: “It’s an evil, and we pray that they escape.”
He defended his stance on engaging bandits in dialogue, describing it as a practical approach to save lives and maintain peace. “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. If negotiation will stop bloodshed, we will do it,” he said.
Gumi stressed that his previous interactions with bandits were always conducted openly, with authorities and the press present. He last met directly with bandit groups in 2021, trying to unite different factions, but said the federal government at the time “was not keen” on the initiative. After the groups were officially designated as terrorists, he withdrew from direct contact.
On the broader security challenges in Nigeria, Gumi said the military cannot handle the crisis alone. “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.”
He also clarified that most bandits are Fulani herdsmen rather than urban Fulani, noting that their struggle is tied to survival and cattle rearing. “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.”