Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has questioned why no government official has engaged Boko Haram terrorists and bandits in dialogue to end violence in northern Nigeria, drawing parallels with peace negotiations that helped curb militancy in the Niger Delta.
Gumi made the comparison in a Facebook post on Saturday, recalling how former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo met with Niger Delta militants in the creeks to broker peace.
According to the cleric, both leaders engaged the militants directly and subsequently introduced programmes that contributed to ending the insurgency 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,” he wrote.
Gumi questioned why a similar approach had not been adopted to address the activities of Boko Haram and armed bandits in parts of northern Nigeria.
“Who is going to visit BH and Bandits to tame them without fools castigating them?” he asked.
The cleric has consistently advocated dialogue with armed groups operating in the North-West and North-East, previously visiting bandit camps in Zamfara and other states to hear their grievances.
He has maintained that negotiation, rather than military force alone, was instrumental in resolving the Niger Delta crisis and should be considered in efforts to restore peace in northern Nigeria.
His position has attracted mixed reactions, with critics accusing him of legitimising criminal groups responsible for kidnappings, killings and cattle rustling, while supporters argue that his interventions have facilitated the release of kidnapped victims.
Gumi, a retired military officer, has repeatedly denied supporting terrorism, insisting that his engagements are solely aimed at ending bloodshed through dialogue, rehabilitation and peaceful resolution.
The Niger Delta Amnesty Programme, introduced in 2009 under the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and sustained by the administration of former President Jonathan, led to the disarmament and reintegration of thousands of militants, significantly reducing attacks on oil infrastructure in the region.
Jonathan had first engaged with Niger Delta militants in 2007 while serving as vice president, visiting the creeks in Warri, Delta State, where he met former militant leader Government Ekpemupolo, popularly known as Tompolo. He later said the meeting laid the foundation for the amnesty programme.
Osinbajo also visited Niger Delta communities in 2017 as acting president, meeting with militants and traditional rulers. He defended the outreach at the time, arguing that those in the creeks were Nigerian citizens with legitimate grievances that required engagement rather than being viewed solely as security threats.
