In a forceful and unambiguous declaration, Nigeria’s Defence Minister condemns rhetoric legitimizing criminality, issuing a direct warning to prominent cleric Sheikh Gumi and others who express solidarity with armed bandits.
The Defence Minister, Lieutenant General Christopher Musa (retired), has issued a stern public admonition to Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmed Gumi and other individuals across Nigeria, cautioning them against framing the country’s violent bandits as members of a “northern brotherhood” or as misunderstood kin.
General Musa, speaking officially on Wednesday from Maiduguri, Borno State, deployed a blunt proverb to underscore his point “A friend of a thief is a thief.” He emphasized that this statement was a deliberate and calculated policy position, not an offhand or merely symbolic remark. It serves, he explained, as a direct rebuttal to narratives advanced by Sheikh Gumi, who has repeatedly characterized bandits operating from forest hideouts as “our brothers” and suggested they are an indispensable part of the social fabric
The Minister’s intervention draws a critical and non-negotiable distinction between compassion and complicity. He acknowledged the role of empathy in conflict resolution but argued that justifying, normalizing, or rationalizing terrorism and banditry only serves to empower the very criminal networks responsible for devastating entire communities, displacing millions of families, and claiming thousands of innocent lives. To label such actors as “brothers,” he contended, does not diminish their violence, instead, it risks legitimizing their cause and fundamentally undermines the concerted efforts of Nigeria’s military and security agencies.
General Musa’s warning carries a profound implication, terrorism sustains itself not merely through weapons and financing, but also through the moral and ideological cover provided by influential voices. His statement asserts that any person, regardless of status who excuses, defends, or provides a shield for criminals through rhetoric, political influence, or deliberate silence bears a share of responsibility for the resulting atrocities. In the grave context of national security, the Minister declared, neutrality is not an option, one is either on the side of the state and the rule of law, or one is enabling lawlessness.
Nigeria’s fight against banditry and terrorism is imperiled by dangerous narratives that blur the lines between victim and perpetrator. For the nation to prevail, there must be a unified moral and legal front.
The Defence Minister has therefore presented a stark choice, stand unequivocally with the Nigerian state and its laws, or risk being identified among those whose words and actions perpetuate the cycle of violence and insecurity.
