Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has criticised Nigeria’s reliance on military operations to tackle insecurity, arguing that intensified non-kinetic measures could have produced better results and reduced civilian casualties.
Gumi made the remarks on Monday, 9 October while reacting to Defence Minister Christopher Musa’s recent statement that soldiers deployed to tackle insecurity across the country were exhausted and needed rest.
“My men are tired,” Musa had said, calling for the strengthening of the Nigeria Police Force to enable the military to gradually withdraw from internal security operations.
Reacting, Gumi argued that Nigeria’s security challenges required a different strategy, particularly through dialogue, rehabilitation and other non-military interventions.
“If the non-kinetic approach was intensified and executed to the letter, it would have been a different story,” he said.
The cleric likened the use of military force against armed groups to using a hammer to kill a fly, arguing that civilian casualties from military operations could generate sympathy for terrorists.
“Using military on ragtag militants is like using a hammer to kill a fly. The collateral damages make the terrorist ‘saints’,” he added.
His comments come amid renewed concerns over civilian casualties resulting from military airstrikes targeting armed groups in different parts of northern Nigeria.
A 2025 academic study examining military airstrike errors between 2014 and 2024 documented at least 18 incidents affecting civilians across 18 communities, resulting in approximately 450 deaths.
Some of the documented incidents include the January 2017 bombing of an internally displaced persons’ camp in Rann, Borno State, which killed at least 52 people, and the April 2020 airstrike in Sakotoku, also in Borno, which reportedly killed 17 civilians.
In September 2021, a military airstrike in Buhari community, Yobe State, killed nine people, while another incident in Kurebe, Niger State, in April 2022, killed six children.
The December 2022 airstrike in Mutunji community, Zamfara State, also reportedly killed at least 64 civilians.
In January 2023, an airstrike targeting suspected armed groups near the Benue-Nasarawa border killed dozens of people, while the December 3 military drone attack in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State, killed more than 80 civilians, according to initial reports. Amnesty International later reported that more than 120 people were killed in the incident.
Other documented incidents include the September 2024 bombing of a mosque in Jika da Kolo, Kaduna State, which killed 24 people, and the December 2024 airstrike affecting Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities in Sokoto State, where about 10 civilians reportedly died.
Gumi made the remarks on Monday, 9 October while reacting to Defence Minister Christopher Musa’s recent statement that soldiers deployed to tackle insecurity across the country were exhausted and needed rest.
“My men are tired,” Musa had said, calling for the strengthening of the Nigeria Police Force to enable the military to gradually withdraw from internal security operations.
Reacting, Gumi argued that Nigeria’s security challenges required a different strategy, particularly through dialogue, rehabilitation and other non-military interventions.
“If the non-kinetic approach was intensified and executed to the letter, it would have been a different story,” he said.
The cleric likened the use of military force against armed groups to using a hammer to kill a fly, arguing that civilian casualties from military operations could generate sympathy for terrorists.
“Using military on ragtag militants is like using a hammer to kill a fly. The collateral damages make the terrorist ‘saints’,” he added.
His comments come amid renewed concerns over civilian casualties resulting from military airstrikes targeting armed groups in different parts of northern Nigeria.
A 2025 academic study examining military airstrike errors between 2014 and 2024 documented at least 18 incidents affecting civilians across 18 communities, resulting in approximately 450 deaths.
Some of the documented incidents include the January 2017 bombing of an internally displaced persons’ camp in Rann, Borno State, which killed at least 52 people, and the April 2020 airstrike in Sakotoku, also in Borno, which reportedly killed 17 civilians.
In September 2021, a military airstrike in Buhari community, Yobe State, killed nine people, while another incident in Kurebe, Niger State, in April 2022, killed six children.
The December 2022 airstrike in Mutunji community, Zamfara State, also reportedly killed at least 64 civilians.
In January 2023, an airstrike targeting suspected armed groups near the Benue-Nasarawa border killed dozens of people, while the December 3 military drone attack in Tudun Biri, Kaduna State, killed more than 80 civilians, according to initial reports. Amnesty International later reported that more than 120 people were killed in the incident.
Other documented incidents include the September 2024 bombing of a mosque in Jika da Kolo, Kaduna State, which killed 24 people, and the December 2024 airstrike affecting Gidan Sama and Rumtuwa communities in Sokoto State, where about 10 civilians reportedly died.