In an interview with the Sun on Sunday, February 1, 2026, Hon. Ibrahim Zailani, a lawyer and former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Bauchi State, has defended controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s acknowledgment of ethnic kinship with bandits, while emphasizing that such recognition does not equate to endorsing their criminal activities.
Zailani expressed personal agreement with Gumi’s position on ethnic identity and responsibility.
“To me, Gumi is saying the right thing,” Zailani stated. “I am Hausa-Fulani; if the bandits are Hausa-Fulani, should I deny my brothers? They are Hausa-Fulani too.”
The former attorney general was emphatic, however, about drawing a clear line between ethnic kinship and moral approval of banditry.
“But I do not believe in what they are doing, and Gumi does not believe in what they are doing,” he concluded.
Zailani’s remarks reflect a perspective that ethnic solidarity and condemnation of criminal behavior can coexist—a position that challenges critics who argue that Gumi’s engagement with bandits amounts to complicity or support for their activities.
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