Kidnapping of schoolchildren a “lesser evil” than killing soldiers – Gumi

Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi has stirred fresh controversy after stating that the abduction of schoolchildren is a “lesser evil” compared to the killing of soldiers.

Gumi, who spoke in an interview with the BBC published on Tuesday, acknowledged that both actions are wrong and condemnable but argued that they do not carry the same moral weight.

His comments resurfaced amid public outrage and renewed criticism from security analysts, many of whom say the cleric’s views appear to downplay the trauma inflicted on schoolchildren and their families.

The cleric said  his assertion is based on a moral hierarchy, not an endorsement of kidnapping or criminal activity.

“Saying that kidnapping children is a lesser evil than killing your soldiers — definitely it is lesser. Killing is worse than kidnapping, but they are all evil. Not all evils are of the same power,” he said.

The cleric also pushed back against the widely repeated assertion that governments must never negotiate with terrorists. He argued that such a position is neither realistic nor supported by scripture or global practice.

“That phrase, ‘we don’t negotiate with terror,’ I don’t know where they got it from. It’s not in the Bible. It’s not in the Quran,” he said.

“In fact, it’s not even in practice. Everybody is negotiating with outlaws, non-state actors — everybody. We negotiate for peace and our strategic interests. If negotiation will bring a stoppage to bloodshed, we will do it.”

Responding to claims that his engagements with bandit groups legitimise criminal networks, Gumi dismissed the criticisms as misinformed.

He said his interventions are carried out transparently and usually in collaboration with authorities.

“Anybody who thinks that way doesn’t understand the intricacies and what we go through. I go there with the authorities. I don’t go alone. And I go there with the press,” he said.

He disclosed that his last direct contact with bandit groups was in 2021 during mediation efforts, noting that state governments were receptive to his involvement while the federal government “wasn’t keen.”

Gumi also said resolving Nigeria’s banditry crisis requires a combination of military and non-military approaches. While calling for a stronger military presence, he stressed that force alone cannot resolve the conflict.

“We need a robust army… but even the military is saying our role in this civil unrest, in this criminality, is 95 percent kinetic. The rest is the government, the politics, and the locals. The military cannot do everything,” Gumi maintained.

He described the armed groups largely as Fulani herdsmen “fighting an existential war” tied to cattle, inheritance and livelihood patterns.