Yoruba Union Asks US Government To Interrogate Sheikh Gumi Over Activities, Hideouts Of Bandits

Ikeja, Lagos State– The Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has called on the President of the United States to compel Kaduna-based cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, to lead security forces to the hideouts of armed Fulani militias who have for years unleashed terror across Nigeria.

The union said Gumi’s repeated public defence of terrorists and self-proclaimed role as a mediator proves he has intimate knowledge of where the armed groups operate.

The group insisted that if Gumi could escort journalists and government officials into remote forest enclaves for “peace missions,” then he should be compelled to help dismantle the very networks he claims to negotiate with.

In a statement released on Sunday by the Union Convener, Olusola Badero, through its Home Director, Princess Balogun, the group described Nigeria as “a near–banana republic,” where government officials in the northern region routinely pose for photographs with terrorists in broad daylight while negotiating with people who have killed, kidnapped, raped, and maimed innocent citizens.

The union said Sheikh Gumi must be held to account for repeatedly defending armed bandit groups simply because they share ethnic ties.

According to the statement, Gumi’s continued justification of terrorist actions has emboldened criminal networks that have devastated rural communities across the country.

The group noted that while Gumi claims to have facilitated the surrender of over 600 bandits, he has also consistently dismissed calls for his arrest as intolerant and politically driven. “His own words confirm his closeness to these killers,” the group said.

Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá condemned the escalating insecurity in southern and northern Nigeria, saying terrorists have turned vast regions into killing fields with little resistance from government authorities.

“Every day, Nigerians are seen on social media with guns pointed at their heads, begging for ransom,” the union said.

“Many are murdered even after ransom is paid. The same Fulani militias have destroyed farmlands, taken over ancestral homes, raped women, burnt villages, invaded churches and mosques, and kidnapped worshippers.”

The group dismissed Gumi’s argument that terrorists are reacting to a lack of social amenities. “There is no state in Nigeria without communities lacking water, roads, electricity, or hospitals,” the group said. “But no other ethnic group has turned mass murder, kidnapping, and land occupation into an industry.”

The organisation accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of turning a blind eye to the worsening crisis while terrorists enjoy celebrity treatment in the North.

“President Tinubu continues to deny the mass killings and atrocities being committed,” the union said.

“He goes on television claiming there is no genocide, while entire communities are wiped out. The government has failed to arrest any of the major commanders of these militias. This silence is complicity.”

The group further alleged that both Christians and Muslims in affected regions are being slaughtered, insisting the killings are orchestrated by armed Fulani militias who have operated freely for years due to political protection.

In an unprecedented plea, the Yoruba Union called on the U.S. President to pressure President Tinubu to order Gumi’s arrest and prosecution for allegedly shielding terrorists, knowing their hideouts, and being aware of their financiers and weapons suppliers.

They added that if the Nigerian government continues negotiating with terrorists instead of dismantling their networks, the international community must take notice.

“If sending U.S. troops and fighter jets will end these mass killings—since the Nigerian government has failed—then the U.S. should step in,” they said. “Nigeria needs help, because our government is too weak or unwilling to confront those destroying the nation.”

The group vowed to continue raising global awareness of the escalating crisis, calling the current situation “one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s history,” with communities abandoned, security forces overwhelmed, and millions living under the shadow of terrorism.

“Enough is enough,” the union said. “Those aiding and defending terrorists must face justice, no matter their status, title, or connections.”