ISLAMIC cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has questioned why no government official has visited Boko Haram terrorists and armed bandits to negotiate an end to their violent activities, arguing that past Nigerian leaders adopted a similar approach in resolving the Niger Delta militancy crisis.
News Point Nigeria reports that Gumi made the remarks in a Facebook post on Saturday, where he compared the government’s approach to insecurity in the North with the dialogue initiated by former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo with Niger Delta militants.
The cleric recalled that both Jonathan and Osinbajo, at different times, travelled into the Niger Delta creeks to meet militant leaders in an effort to broker peace and subsequently introduced programmes that helped curb militancy in the oil-producing region.
“The former President Jonathan visited delta militants in the creeks, so also the former vice president Osinbajo. They all came up with a program to tame the militants,” Gumi wrote.
He questioned why a similar approach had not been adopted in dealing with Boko Haram insurgents and bandits terrorising parts of northern Nigeria, suggesting that anyone attempting such engagement would likely face widespread public criticism.
“Who is going to visit BH and Bandits to tame them without fools castigating them?” the cleric asked.
For several years, Gumi has positioned himself as one of the strongest advocates of dialogue with armed groups operating across Nigeria’s North-West and North-East. As part of that advocacy, he has repeatedly visited bandit camps in Zamfara and other states, saying the engagements were aimed at understanding the grievances of the armed groups and encouraging peaceful resolutions.
He has consistently maintained that dialogue and negotiation, rather than relying solely on military force, proved effective in ending militancy in the Niger Delta and should similarly be considered as part of efforts to restore peace in northern Nigeria.
His interventions, however, have continued to generate mixed reactions across the country. While some Nigerians have accused him of legitimising criminal groups responsible for kidnappings, killings and cattle rustling, others have credited his engagements with facilitating the release of abducted victims in some instances.
The retired soldier has repeatedly denied supporting terrorism or banditry, insisting that his advocacy has always been directed at ending bloodshed through dialogue, rehabilitation and peaceful reintegration of those willing to abandon violence.
The cleric’s latest comments also revived discussions about the Niger Delta Amnesty Programme introduced in 2009 by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and later sustained by former President Jonathan. The initiative led to the disarmament of thousands of militants who were offered vocational training, monthly stipends and reintegration support, a programme widely credited with significantly reducing attacks on oil installations and improving security in the region.
Jonathan had first intervened in the Niger Delta crisis in 2007 while serving as vice president, when he reportedly travelled into the creeks without an armed security detail to meet former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo, in Warri, Delta State.
The former president later said that the meeting laid the foundation for the amnesty programme eventually granted to Niger Delta militants, a programme that remains operational today.
Similarly, Osinbajo, while serving as acting president in 2017, embarked on a tour of Niger Delta communities where he met directly with militant leaders, traditional rulers and other stakeholders.
At the time, Osinbajo defended the outreach, arguing that those in the creeks were Nigerian citizens with genuine grievances that required engagement and dialogue, rather than being viewed solely as security threats.