CHILDREN ABDUCTION IS LESSER EVIL THAN KILLING SOLDIERS
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Islamic cleric Sheikh Gumi said that taking schoolchildren hostage is a “lesser evil” compared to killing soldiers. He told the BBC in an interview that while kidnapping kids is “evil,” it’s not as bad as murder, especially when the children are later released safely.
He explained that kidnapping is worse than some things but not as bad as killing.
“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 the same.”
He also mentioned past events, like the big kidnapping in Kebbi State, where the victims were freed without anyone dying.
“So it’s a lesser evil than, like, what happened in Kebbi. They abducted children, and they were released. They didn’t kill them.”
The remarks come as more than 315 people — including 303 students and 12 teachers — were abducted in Niger State.
On 7 December, the Federal Government announced the release of 100 students, while an earlier report confirmed the escape of 50 others just days after the kidnapping.
“It’s an evil, and we pray that they escape”, Gumi responded briefly when asked what he would say to their parents.
Gumi also defended his long-held stance that negotiating with bandits is unavoidable, describing engagement with bandits and other non-state actors as a practical strategy to secure peace and save lives, and noting that “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, 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.”
The cleric stressed that his past engagements with bandits were not carried out secretly or independently.
“I go there with the authorities. I don’t go there alone. And I go there with the press,” he said.
Gumi revealed that his last direct meetings with bandit groups were in 2021, saying he made marathon efforts to bring various factions together, but the federal government at the time “was not keen” on the initiative.
He said that once the groups were officially labeled as terrorists, he stopped all communication with them.
When talking about the bigger security issues, the former army captain said that Nigeria’s military can’t handle everything on its own.
“We need a strong army,” he said, “but even the military is saying that most of the action in this civil unrest and criminal activity is about fighting — 95% of it.
The rest is because of the government, politics, and the local people. The military can’t do everything by itself.”
Gumi also said that most of the bandits are Fulani herdsmen, not Fulani who live in towns, and he stressed the need to clearly separate the two groups.
He explained that their struggle is about survival and taking care of their cattle:
“They are fighting for their very existence,” he said.
“Their lives are all about cattle. In fact, they inherit them. They’ll tell you, ‘This cow I got from my grandfather.’ They’re mostly Fulani herdsmen, not the Fulani who live in towns, because you have to understand the difference between the two.”
Gumi’s comments highlight the tough balance between talking things through and taking action to deal with Nigeria’s ongoing security problems, especially in the northwest, where kidnappings, bandit attacks, and violence keep affecting communities.
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