A remark by former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has ignited widespread debate after he referred to armed bandit groups as “gentlemen in the forest” during a live interview on Arise News on Friday, November 28, 2025.
The comment came as Baba-Ahmed reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency and the government’s new strategy to tackle the escalating wave of kidnappings and rural attacks. In challenging the official classification of the armed actors, Baba-Ahmed argued that the term “jihadist” is being wrongly applied.
“It is laughable to say that you will bring forest guards to challenge the gentlemen in the forest. They are gentlemen in the forest, they are not jihadists,” he said, insisting that the groups operating in Nigeria’s forests lack any ideological foundation that justifies the label of jihad.
He explained that while the groups commit violent crimes, including mass abductions, school attacks, and extortion, their operations are not rooted in religious extremism. Instead, he claimed, their existence reflects deeper governance failures.
His remarks immediately sparked controversy, with many viewers questioning his choice of language and the implications of describing violent actors as “gentlemen.” Critics argue that the phrasing appears to downplay the severity of the crimes committed by the groups, while supporters say he was drawing attention to political mischaracterization and misdiagnosis of Nigeria’s security problem.
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