Mallam Baba Yusuf, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Global Investment and Trade Company (GITC), has criticized the continued calls for negotiations and rehabilitation of bandits by Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, raising concerns over the implications of such proposals for victims of violent attacks across the country.
Speaking during an interview from 3:11 on Channels Television on Saturday, May 30, 2026, Yusuf questioned the basis of Gumi’s position and referenced the cleric’s previous travel restrictions to Saudi Arabia.
“Don’t forget that Sheikh Gumi last year was banned from entering Saudi Arabia, with a valid visa, which before then, by the way, since I think 2010, he has not been allowed to enter Saudi Arabia,” Yusuf said.
According to him, Gumi had previously described the restriction as politically motivated, but Yusuf argued that the cleric should reflect on the circumstances surrounding the decision. “He called it politically motivated. I tell him he should have a foot for thought,” he stated.
Yusuf said the recurring debate about negotiating with armed groups had become repetitive and questioned the continued advocacy for rehabilitation programmes without considering the impact on victims and their families.
“Having said that, that was even dimension this, you know, sounding like a broken record conversation about negotiation and rehabilitation and whatever,” he said.
The policy adviser further challenged proponents of negotiations with bandits and terrorists to consider the suffering of families who have lost loved ones to violence.
“To Sheikh Gumi and others that are proponents of this, what would they say to the family of the people or the families of the people that these people have massacred?” he asked.
He also referenced Islamic teachings, arguing that the killing of innocent civilians cannot be justified and should not be overlooked in discussions about reconciliation with armed groups.
“Or has he forgotten the injunction in the Holy Quran about those that took arms and kill innocent people, be they Muslims or non-Muslims, that are non-combatant, that are not fighting against you, that are helpless people?” Yusuf said….Read_More…