Kidnapping School Children is ‘Lesser Evil’ Than Killing Soldiers says Gumi

Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi has reiterated that, while the abduction of schoolchildren is condemnable, it is a “lesser evil” compared with the killing of soldiers, remarks that have renewed controversy amid a spate of mass kidnappings in northern Nigeria.

In a recent interview with the BBC, excerpts of which were carried by several national outlets; Gumi said that, although kidnapping is “evil and unacceptable,” it is not as grievous as murder and that “not all evils are of the same weight.”

Gumi made the comments as the country reels from one of the largest recent school abductions, in which more than 300 pupils and staff were seized from a boarding school in Niger State.

Authorities and aid groups have reported that dozens of children have since been rescued or escaped, but hundreds remained unaccounted for at the time of reporting.

Defending his long-standing advocacy for dialogue with armed groups, Gumi said negotiating with outlaws is a pragmatic tool used internationally and argued that engagement may prevent greater loss of life.

“That phrase ‘we don’t negotiate’, I don’t know where they got it from. It’s not in the Bible. It’s not in the Quran,” he told the broadcaster, insisting that negotiations are sometimes necessary to secure peace and lives.

The cleric’s intervention comes against a backdrop of intense debate over the government’s strategy for tackling banditry and insurgency.

Security analysts and civil society groups have repeatedly warned that concessions to criminal groups risk entrenching impunity, while some community leaders and negotiators argue that selective dialogue has, in isolated cases, secured the release of hostages.

Gumi has previously defended his role in mediating with armed actors and told critics that his interventions are aimed at freeing kidnapped civilians, not at endorsing violence.

He has also faced sustained criticism from rights activists and commentators who say his public stance normalises contact with criminal groups and undermines calls for firm law-enforcement responses.