Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has said that recent killings of Christians by herdsmen are acts of retaliation, insisting that both sides engage in attacks along long-standing conflict lines.
Gumi made the claim in a post on his Facebook page on Thursday, arguing that violence between herders and Christian farming communities is not one-sided.
He said, “The Christians at fault lines in war with herdsmen, do also attack and counterattack. They kill and they are also killed. We regret all loss of lives. Don’t talk of Tafawa Balewa, Yalwan Shandam, Kafanchan, Zangon Kataf, Kaduna crises, etc.”
The cleric maintained there is no ongoing Christian genocide in Nigeria.
“There is no Christian genocide. I was in Kano, Lagos and Ibadan in the last two days. Christians are going about their business. They are in power, economy and security outfits,” he said.
Gumi also rejected calls for foreign military intervention in Nigeria’s security crisis, warning that it would further complicate the situation.
He said, “The only option left is to utilise our national resources equitably to educate, develop and protect all Nigerians, herdsmen included. Any foreign military intervention would only worsen the precarious situation, as nobody can control these outlawed groups on both sides.”
He recently claimed that some communities were staging false burial scenes to suggest a targeted genocide against Christians.
Gumi further explained that many herders live in deep isolation, far from formal education and basic economic opportunities, which he said increases their vulnerability to criminal influence.
He said partly, “You can imagine now, if we select 10 people here and keep them with the cows alone, with no communication with the outside world, come back after one year and see how these 10 people will be.”
The cleric urged the government to improve education, communication access, and economic support for pastoral communities to reduce insecurity.
