Sheikh Ahmad Gumi explains why bandits target ordinary Nigerians, citing revenge, ransom payments and alleged foreign interests in arms supplies
Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, an Islamic cleric, has explained why armed bandits operating in northern Nigeria target ordinary citizens for kidnapping, killing and extortion rather than politicians or military personnel.
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Gumi spoke while responding to questions about the pattern of attacks by armed groups, saying he and his team had raised the same issue during meetings with bandits in their forest hideouts.
During the interview, the interviewer asked why the criminals appeared to focus their attacks on ordinary Nigerians instead of political office holders and security personnel.
Responding, Gumi said the bandits had linked their actions to what they described as a cycle of violence involving military operations, attacks on their families and reprisals.
“We asked them that. They said if initially when the military went they told them they are coming to fight castle rustlers but why do they kill their women and children?” he said.
He added that the bandits also complained about the actions of vigilante groups, which they accused of arresting and killing their members.
According to Gumi, the armed groups viewed the situation as a cycle of revenge and counterattacks.
“So they feel it’s a field of blood, revenge, attack and counter. So we as clergy, our own duty is to look stop. Let’s stop the bloodshed. Let’s come to a term. It’s too much,” he said.
The cleric claimed that some bandits were also unhappy with the level of violence, quoting one of them as saying the killings had become excessive.
“One of the body was telling us the bloodshed is too much. They too are not happy. And they say we are forced to do it,” he stated.
Gumi also discussed how the groups obtain weapons, arguing that ransom payments were contributing to competition among different factions.
He said the groups were engaged in an arms race, with rival factions seeking to acquire more sophisticated weapons to gain an advantage over one another.
“It is possible now, they buy weapons more. Because there’s an arm race between them. You know there are different groups,” he said.
Explaining how the weapons were sourced, Gumi described the supply network as a black market in which buyers could obtain firearms if they had the money.
“Well it’s a black market like drugs. It’s a black market. If you have the money you get them,” he said.
Asked whether the groups received external sponsorship, the cleric said foreign interests could be involved in supplying weapons.
“Foreign intelligence definitely have a hand in it,” he claimed.
He cited international conflicts in which powerful countries had supported armed groups to advance their interests, referring to remarks by United States President Donald Trump about providing support to Kurdish fighters against Iran.
When asked whether the United States could be arming bandits in Nigeria, Gumi said such involvement was possible.
“Could it be possible that America is arming our bandits? It’s possible. It’s possible. Any other foreign that’s interested in Nigeria, possibly could be behind them,” he added.
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However, Gumi did not provide evidence to substantiate his claims of foreign intelligence involvement or identify any country or agency supplying weapons to bandits in Nigeria.
