Defence Minister Warns Gumi, Others Against Support For Bandits and Backing Terrorism……says sympathy for bandits fuels insecurity which undermines Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
The Defence Minister, Lt.Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd), has issued a warning to Sheikh Ahmed Gumi and other persons in the country whom he described as sympathisers of terrorists and bandits against offering overt or covert support to criminal groups threatening national security.
Speaking during an official visit to Maiduguri recently, the Defence Minister said terrorism and banditry should never be framed as expressions of regional, ethnic, or religious brotherhood.
The General declared, “A friend of a thief is a thief,” stressing that Nigerians must desist from justifying or excusing criminality in any form.
He emphasised that his warning statement is neither accidental nor symbolic; explaining that it is a direct response to narratives previously advanced by Sheikh Gumi, who had described bandits’ hiding in forests as “our brothers” and argued that society cannot do without them.
Drawing a line between compassion and complicity, Musa said empathy must not translate into legitimising violence. According to him, such narratives embolden criminal networks that have devastated communities, displaced families, and claimed countless innocent lives across the country.
The Defence Minister’s warning reminds Nigerians that terrorism thrives not only on weapons but also on moral and rhetorical cover, adding that anyone who defends, excuses, or shields criminals through words, influence, or silence shares responsibility for the consequences. In matters of national security, neutrality is not an option.
He insisted that labelling bandits as “brothers” does not reduce violence, but legitimizes and undermines national security efforts.
Musa concluded that Nigeria cannot defeat banditry and terrorism while dangerous narratives blur the distinction between victims and perpetrators, insisting that neutrality is not an option in matters of national security.
“The choice is clear,” he said. “Stand with the law and the nation, or be counted among those enabling criminality.”
