Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, on Tuesday said he would spearhead calls for the release and pardon of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, if the separatist agitator shows genuine remorse for his past actions.
Kanu is currently serving a sentence after he was convicted on seven counts of terrorism by the Federal High Court in Abuja. But Gumi, who appeared on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, monitored by Mega Icon Magazine, argued that the IPOB leader could still benefit from a non-kinetic peace initiative if he demonstrates repentance.
“This Kanu that was imprisoned for terrorism for agitating that our soldiers should be killed — if this same Kanu will show remorse and also call for peace, honestly, I will be at the forefront calling for his pardon and amnesty,” he said.
The Kaduna-based cleric drew parallels with past presidential decisions, noting that ex-President Shehu Shagari granted amnesty to the late Biafran leader, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, while the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua extended the same gesture to Niger Delta militants.
“Shagari gave amnesty to Ojukwu. Yar’Adua gave amnesty to the Niger Delta militants, who also committed acts of terrorism. This is how we are,” he added.
Gumi, who has consistently advocated a non-kinetic approach to tackling insecurity in the North, maintained that Nigeria’s military alone cannot defeat insurgents and bandits due to the unconventional nature of the conflicts.
“Even America could not succeed in Afghanistan; even Israel could not succeed in a small strip of land. Our army is not designed for guerrilla warfare; no army is designed for the kind of people we are seeing now,” he said.
He claimed that unlike some armed groups, Fulani herders have demonstrated willingness to accept peace initiatives, even though they often show up armed due to fear and insecurity.
“If you have been following, the Fulani herdsmen have been calling for peace. When you call them for peace, they come with their guns for many reasons. Can you call IPOB for peace? Can you call Boko Haram? Anybody who inclines to peace — I am with him,” Gumi said.
His comments come at a time of heightened insecurity across the country, with mass abductions of schoolchildren, worshippers and travellers recorded in multiple states in recent weeks.
Although President Bola Tinubu has ordered security agencies to pursue the perpetrators, opposition figures continue to fault his administration’s response, insisting it remains inadequate in addressing the growing wave of violence.
