Gumi Warns U.S. Against Bombing Nigeria, Calls for Dialogue With Terrorists

Kaduna cleric argues for dialogue, amnesty and community-based solutions over military strikes after U.S. warnings and threats of intervention over violence in Nigeria.

Kaduna-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has urged that militants, bandits and kidnappers operating in parts of Nigeria be treated as human beings who can be engaged and redirected, rather than targeted with broad military strikes.

In an interview with VOP TV, Sheikh Gumi described those responsible for killings, maiming and kidnappings as “listening and reasonable human beings” and argued that pacification and persuasion — not force — should be the priority.

“I have been exploring ways to pacify these people and redirect them because they are human beings. They listen and reason,” Sheikh Gumi said. “If you respond to force with force you will compound the problem and make things worse.”

He warned against foreign military intervention, saying the U.S. experience in Afghanistan and Syria showed that prolonged force does not necessarily eliminate extremist groups. “If they [the U.S. army] could cure and eliminate terrorists I would welcome them, but I know they cannot. They fought for 20 years in Afghanistan and could not finish them; the situation in Syria is similar,” he said.

Sheikh Gumi also cautioned that airstrikes or indiscriminate bombing in Nigeria would likely backfire because many militants have embedded themselves within local communities. “It is not easy to come and drop bombs here and there and expect to finish them, because they have infiltrated the society. It will cause more damage. More Muslims and Christians will be killed if America drops a bomb in Nigeria,” he said.

His remarks come after U.S. President Donald Trump designated Nigeria a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged persecution of Christians and publicly threatened military action to eliminate groups accused of killing Christians. Sheikh Gumi has long advocated for amnesty and dialogue as part of a strategy to reduce violence and rehabilitate offenders.

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