No kobo of the Nigerian budget is allocated to bandits or herdsmen. Instead, the Nigerian government is putting pressure on them. That’s why they have to kidnap to finance their war machines — Sheikh Gumi

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has pushed back against claims that the Nigerian government funds armed bandits and herdsmen, stating that not a single kobo of the national budget is allocated to them.

“No kobo of the Nigerian budget is allocated to bandits or herdsmen. Instead, the Nigerian government is putting pressure on them. That’s why they have to kidnap to finance their war machines,” Gumi said.

The statement addresses a recurring allegation in public discourse that elements within the state are either funding or tolerating criminal groups operating in the Northwest and North-Central regions. Gumi, who has previously engaged in dialogue with bandit leaders, argues that government pressure has cut off conventional funding routes for these groups, forcing them to turn to kidnapping, cattle rustling, and extortion to sustain their operations.

According to him, the financial squeeze is part of the reason for the rise in mass abductions targeting schools, highways, and rural communities since 2020. He contends that when armed groups face military offensives and blocked supply lines, ransom payments become their primary source of income to buy weapons, fuel, and food.

Gumi’s position aligns with official government statements that deny any policy of negotiating or funding criminal gangs. Successive administrations have maintained that ransom payments fuel the cycle of violence, and the 2022 Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act criminalized paying ransom to kidnappers. Security agencies have repeatedly said their strategy is to degrade the operational capacity of bandit groups through kinetic and non-kinetic measures.

Critics, however, argue that weak prosecution, porous borders, and delayed justice allow the kidnapping economy to thrive. They also point to gaps in intelligence and coordination between federal and state forces as factors that make it difficult to sustain pressure on the groups.

Gumi has long advocated for a mix of military action and dialogue, arguing that purely kinetic responses without addressing grievances and economic exclusion will not end the conflict. He maintains that many of the fighters are motivated by marginalization, lack of education, and long-standing farmer-herder disputes that have been hijacked by criminal elements….See More