Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has disclosed that he would personally lead a campaign for amnesty for the convicted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, if the separatist demonstrated genuine remorse and publicly call for peace.
Gumi made the remarks while advocating a non-kinetic approach to resolving Nigeria’s security crises in an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, insisting that reconciliation, not force, was the only sustainable path to achieve peace.
He noted that Nigeria Army “is not designed for a guerrilla war, no army is designed for these kind of people.”
Gumi, therefore, argued that Nigeria must take advantage of opportunities where armed groups show willingness to abandon violence. According to him, not every situation required a kinetic, force-first approach. “Since we have people who are ready to put down their arms, it’s not every time we use kinetic approach,” he said.
He referred to Kanu, whose incarceration he described as part of a larger national dilemma about handling 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,” Gumi declared.
He added that Nigeria has historical precedents for such reconciliatory steps.
“Shagari gave amnesty to Ojukwu, Yar’Adua gave amnesty to the Niger Delta militants who committed acts of terrorism. This is how we are looking for a way out,” he said.
Gumi argued that Nigeria’s diversity demands a culture of forgiveness if the country is to remain united. He lamented what he described as selective narratives around national leaders and conflicts.
“We have lost leaders, we are asking for peace,” he said. “If any Muslim has in the past killed one single Nigerian leader who is not a Muslim, it would have been in the air every day—but we are people who forgive.”
Reaffirming his position, he said his interventions were motivated solely by the desire to prevent further disintegration. “I am advocating for Nigeria, the best way out,” he said.
Gumi also claimed that recent attacks on his character stemmed from political tensions in Zamfara State, where, according to him, authorities have refused to adopt a peace pact proposed to address banditry. “Right now they are attacking Gumi because Zamfara has refused to come into agreement with them,” he said.
Sheikh Gumi has, for years, maintained that negotiation, rehabilitation and reintegration were more effective in addressing banditry than purely military actions.
He addressed criticisms of his engagement with armed Fulani groups, stressing that his advocacy was not on behalf of bandits or separatists but for Nigeria’s unity and long-term stability.
“First, I am not advocating for them; I am advocating for Nigeria, so that we can see how we can tackle this menace,” he said.
He cited the recent kidnappings of children in Kebbi and Kwara States as proof that the crisis has escalated beyond what military force alone can resolve.
“Children were just kidnapped in Kebbi and Kwara and Bauchi, and you want a military, which even America could not succeed in Afghanistan, even Israel could not succeed in a small piece of land,” Gumi said.