Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said he would personally lead a campaign for amnesty for the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, if he publicly shows remorse and calls for peace. Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, Gumi reiterated his belief that Nigeria’s security challenges require negotiation and reconciliation rather than military force.
He argued that Nigeria’s military was not built for guerrilla warfare and that the country should seize opportunities when armed groups signal readiness to abandon violence. “Since we have people who are ready to put down their arms, it’s not every time we use kinetic approach,” he said.
Referencing Kanu’s case, Gumi said the situation reflects a wider national struggle with political and armed agitation. “This Kanu that was jailed for terrorism, for agitating that our soldiers should be killed if this same Kanu shows remorse and calls for peace, I will be in the forefront calling for amnesty for him,” he stated.
Gumi cited past examples, recalling that President Shehu Shagari granted amnesty to Odumegwu Ojukwu while President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua did the same for Niger Delta militants. According to him, Nigeria must embrace forgiveness to maintain unity.
The cleric also dismissed recent criticisms against him, linking them to political tensions in Zamfara State, where he claimed authorities rejected a peace pact aimed at reducing banditry. He stressed that his engagements with armed groups were not in support of their activities but for Nigeria’s stability and future.
He pointed to recent mass kidnappings in Kebbi, Kwara and Bauchi States as evidence that military force alone cannot solve the country’s worsening insecurity.
