Why Nigerian Military can’t win war against bandits – Sheikh Gumi
Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has stated that Nigeria’s armed forces lack the capacity to eliminate bandit groups through military force, arguing that dialogue remains the only practical route to ending the worsening insecurity across the northwest and other affected regions.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Gumi asserted that modern militaries everywhere struggle against guerrilla-style fighters, and that Nigeria is facing the same challenge.
He said …
“But even the military says that in dealing with this civil unrest and criminality, only 25% is kinetic action; the rest depends on the government, politics, and local communities. The military cannot do everything.
“Where have you ever seen the military defeat guerrilla fighters? Nowhere.”
His comments come at a time when President Bola Tinubu’s administration is introducing sweeping security measures, including a shake-up in military leadership and a nationwide security emergency targeting the criminal networks behind widespread kidnappings, extortion, and violent rural attacks.
Addressing longstanding allegations that he maintains ties with bandit commanders, Gumi denied having any contact with them since 2021, the year the federal government officially designated the groups as terrorist organisations.
“I never went there alone
“It was in 2021 when I was trying to see how we could bring them together. But unfortunately, the government at the time, the federal government, was not interested. They declared them terrorists, and since that time we have completely disengaged from all contact with them,” he said.
Although he has faced criticism for allegedly emboldening armed groups and weakening governmental authority, Gumi maintains that engaging non-state actors in dialogue is a globally recognised conflict-resolution strategy.
“When they say we don’t negotiate with terrorists, I don’t know where they got that from,” Gumi said. “It is not in the Bible, it is not in the Quran. America had an office negotiating with the Taliban in Qatar. Everyone negotiates with outlaws if it will stop bloodshed.”
Gumi characterised the armed groups wreaking havoc across the northwest, and now spreading to other parts of the country, as predominantly Fulani herders who, in his view, are involved in what he described as an “existential war” driven by pressures and disruptions to their long-standing cattle-rearing way of life.
“They want to exist. That is their life. They know where to graze and how to care for their cattle,” he said, while emphasizing that the unrest has transformed from local farmer–herder tensions into widespread criminality.
