Sheikh Gumi Says More Preachers Could Have Helped Fight Banditry

(Sheikh Gumi. Photo Credit: BBC News)

A respected Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, believes that if more Islamic scholars had been sent to preach to bandits in northwestern Nigeria, there would have been much greater success in tackling the crisis.

Gumi made the comment on his official page on Wednesday, saying that this kind of continuous engagement could work alongside military operations and potentially reduce the need for purely violent approaches.

He pointed out that many people don't realise the bandits themselves are victims of the same ignorance, poverty and abandonment that created the crisis in the first place.

Gumi said that for almost six years since 2021, he and others have been preaching to bandits, and he can't help thinking about what could have been accomplished if many credible Islamic scholars had been systematically sent across the northwest to reach them.

The goal would be to teach the bandits about the value of human life, respect for people's property and what Islam actually says about killing and oppression.

He concluded that people are often trapped by their own lack of understanding.