Gumi: Engaging Bandits Through Islamic Scholars Could Have Achieved More

Nigeria’s long battle with banditry has produced many proposed solutions.

Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has now returned to one of the most controversial: religious engagement. The Islamic cleric says more Islamic scholars should have been deployed to preach to bandits in the North-West.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Gumi made the argument in a post published on his official Facebook page on Wednesday.

According to the cleric, Nigeria could have achieved “tremendous success” if more Islamic scholars had been involved in preaching and engagement with the armed groups.

His argument places religious intervention alongside the security and political approaches that have been used against banditry.

The suggestion is not entirely new.Gumi has previously argued for dialogue and engagement with armed groups, while Nigerian authorities and other voices have stressed the need for security operations and prosecution of those involved in violent crimes.

The debate is complicated by the nature of the violence. Banditry in the North-West has involved killings, kidnappings, attacks on communities and the displacement of residents.

Any proposal involving engagement with armed groups must therefore answer a difficult question: how can dialogue be attempted without weakening the state’s responsibility to protect citizens or creating incentives for criminal activity?

That distinction is critical. Religious preaching may be useful as part of community intervention or de-radicalisation efforts where appropriate. It cannot, by itself, replace policing, intelligence, prosecution and protection of victims.

Nor should religious identity be used to excuse criminal conduct.

ValidViewNetwork reports that Gumi’s proposal is a position for public debate, not an established solution to banditry.

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The responsibility of the state remains clear: protect citizens, investigate crimes and prosecute those responsible according to law.

Any engagement strategy must also respect victims and must not compromise justice.

Nigeria can discuss every possible lawful route to peace, including religious and community engagement. But no dialogue should become a substitute for accountability.

The goal must be peace without surrendering the rule of law.