Islamic cleric Sheikh Gumi has described the kidnapping of schoolchildren as a “lesser evil” compared to killing soldiers, emphasising that Nigeria must engage bandits in negotiations to avoid greater bloodshed.
In an interview with the BBC shared on Tuesday, Gumi acknowledged that the abduction of minors is “evil,” but argued it is less severe than murder, particularly when kidnapped 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.
He referenced previous incidents, including the mass abduction in Kebbi State, noting that the victims were freed without fatalities.
“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 comments come after over 315 people, 303 students and 12 teachers, were abducted in Niger State.
On Sunday, December 7, the Federal Government announced the release of 100 students, while an earlier report confirmed that 50 others escaped just days after the kidnapping.
When asked what he would say to the parents of the abducted children, Gumi replied briefly: “It’s an evil, and we pray that they escape.”
READ ALSO: FG Did Not Pay Ransom for Kebbi, Niger Kidnapped Students – Senate Spokesperson
He also defended his long-held view that negotiating with bandits is necessary, describing such engagement as a practical means to save lives and maintain peace. “Everybody negotiates with bandits,” he said.
“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 stoppage to bloodshed, we will do it.”
Gumi stressed that his previous engagements with bandits were conducted openly and with authorities. “I go there with the authorities. I don’t go there alone. And I go there with the press,” he said.
He revealed that his last direct meetings with bandit groups took place in 2021. He made extensive efforts to bring different factions together, but said the federal government at the time “was not keen” on the initiative. He added that after the groups were officially designated as terrorists, he completely withdrew from contact.
On the broader security situation, the former army captain argued that Nigeria’s 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.”
Gumi also clarified that most bandits are Fulani herdsmen rather than urban Fulani, urging a distinction between the two. He described their struggle as 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.”
