Controversial Islamic Cleric, Gumi
The Minister of Defence, Lt. Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd), has issued a strong warning to Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmed Gumi and other Nigerians against portraying bandits and terrorists as part of any form of northern brotherhood.
In a statement released on Wednesday in Maiduguri, the defence minister stressed that any form of sympathy, justification or moral defence of criminal groups amounts to complicity.
“A friend of a thief is a thief,” Musa declared, warning that Nigerians who lend support, directly or indirectly, to terrorists and bandits would be treated accordingly.
He explained that the statement was deliberate and pointed, describing it as a direct response to narratives previously advanced by Sheikh Gumi, who had referred to bandits hiding in the forests as “our brothers” and suggested that society could not exist without them.
According to the minister, such rhetoric dangerously blurs the line between compassion and collaboration, noting that while empathy may be a human virtue, legitimising or normalising criminal violence only emboldens armed groups responsible for widespread killings, displacement and destruction across the country.
Musa said banditry and terrorism have devastated communities, uprooted families and claimed countless innocent lives, adding that attempts to rationalise the actions of such groups weaken national security efforts and undermine the sacrifices of security personnel.
He warned that terrorism does not survive on weapons alone but also on the moral cover provided by influential voices who excuse or defend criminality.
“Anyone who shields criminals through words, influence or silence shares responsibility for the consequences,” he said, stressing that neutrality in matters of national security is no longer an option.
The defence minister concluded that Nigeria cannot defeat banditry and terrorism if dangerous narratives continue to obscure the distinction between victims and perpetrators.
“The choice is clear: stand with the law and the nation, or be counted among those enabling crime,” he said.
