Do not Grant Amnesty to Ideologically Motivated Herdsmen, Bandits and Jihadists: They are Different from Niger Delta/South-South Agitators
By Priye S. Torulagha
For some time now, some prominent political and Islamic leaders in the Islamic North have been campaigning and putting pressure on the Nigerian government to grant amnesty to violent Fulani herders, bandits, kidnappers and jihadists who have killed over 100,000 Nigerians and displaced about 3.5 million people from their communities in the past ten years. To justify the need to grant amnesty, they maintain that the violent elements should be treated the way Niger Delta/South-South agitators were treated since they are freedom fighters and not terrorists. In other words, they are saying that since Niger Deta/South-South agitators were granted amnesty, the herders, bandits, kidnappers and jihadists should also be given amnesty, regardless of the enormity of their violent crimes against Nigerians for about ten years now.
By so doing, they equate the goals, objectives and actions of the ideologically driven herders and jihadists with those of the Niger Delta/South-South agitators. In other words, they elevate the moral status of virulent killers with those who fight for justice and equity. Of course, they are aware that there is no equivalence between the two, but they do it as a tactic to accomplish a long, drawn-out goal of Islamizing Nigeria.
One of the earliest exponents to draw equivalence between the jihadists and agitators was the late President Muhammadu Buhari who opposed the efforts to destroy Boko Haram during President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration. When he realized that Boko Haram was about to be defeated, he complained loudly by insisting that “the Federal Government stop clamp down of Boko Haram insurgents, saying Niger Delta militants were never killed or properties belonging to them destroyed.” Then, he added, “what is responsible for the security situation in the country is caused by the activities of Niger Delta militants. Every Nigerian that is familiar with what is happening knows this. The Niger Delta militants started it all” (Stop killing Boko Haram members – Buhari tells FG”, 2013, June 2). The late President Buhari ignored the fact that religiously motivated violent riots are a common facet of social and political interaction in the Islamic North, going as far back as 1948. He also ignored that Boko Haram is a phrase which rejects Western education. The fact that Boko Haram opposes Western education means that the organization is driven by an uncompromising religious ideology and not by the issues which led to the Niger Delta/South-South agitation. This is why school children are frequently kidnapped, starting with the abduction of the Chibok students on April 14, 2014, and continuing with the recent abduction of students at St. Mary’s Private Catholic Secondary School in Papiri in Niger State.
Other important northern personalities who have suggested granting amnesty include former governor Ahmed Yerima of Zamfara State, Sen. Diket Plang of Plateau State, and Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi. Governor Ahmed Yerima justified the need for amnesty to the heartless killers by saying, “The best way to go about handling the issue of bandits is to introduce dialogue first. Former President Umaru Yar’Adua had a similar interaction with the militants in the Niger Delta, and it was successful” (“Crush bandits, don’t’ grant them amnesty,” 2023, July 13). It should also be noted that Northern elders, including Mohammed Uwais, a former CJN, Ambassador Babagana Kingigbe, and former Nigerian Ambassador to the UN, Ibrahim Gambari, asked former President Muhammadu Buhari to grant amnesty to Boko Haram (Point Blank News,2015, May 24). Additionally, the late President Muhammadu Buhari also supported granting amnesty to the Boko Haram (Grace, 2018, April 4). Among those who have called for amnesty, Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi is the most strident in his demand for amnesty. He justifies the need for granting them one by saying:
I see no reason why we cannot accept their (bandits) repentance and give them amnesty. You ask why do we give them amnesty but they told us specifically that they are ready to drop their arms and they don’t want to be pursued with legal actions after they repented. These people in the bush who have taken arms, they are criminals. I wonder who is not a criminal. Since Nigeria forgave coup plotters, forgave those that killed. Even those that instigated civil war; civil war that millions of people died, I see no reason why we cannot accept their repentance (“Gumi insists on amnesty for bandits, says Nigeria is already in flames,” 2021, March 5).
However, the late Dr. Junaid Muhammed, a former lawmaker, opposed granting amnesty by calling Boko Haram members criminals (“Northern elders want amnesty for Boko Haram, don’t, they are criminals says Dr. Mohammed,” 2015, May 24). Other prominent Nigerians who have opposed granting amnesty to violent herdsmen, Boko Haram, and other jihadists included Sen. Femi Okorounmu, former NBA Vice President Monday Ubani, Niger Delta activist, Ann Kio-Briggs, and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Austin Opara. They justified their opposition by saying that Boko Haram has not shown any remorse or a desire to seek amnesty, hence, granting the members amnesty will only encourage a jihad (Grace, 2018, April 4).
The Purpose of this Article
The purpose of this article is to show that there is a difference between Fulani herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers and jihadist groups and Niger Delta agitators. In order to accomplish the task, three arguments are made: (1), there is no equivalence between the actions of the Niger Delta/South-South agitators and herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists who have inflicted so much carnage on the Nigerian state; (2) it would amount to a monumental strategic failure for the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant amnesty to groups that are bent on destroying Nigeria by terrorizing the country to bring it to its knees, and (3) the ultimate goal of the jihadists is to transform Nigeria from a multireligious secular democratic state to an Islamic state. The arguments are reinforced through systematic identification of the reasons why they should not be granted amnesty. It should be clearly stated that any form of violence is disassociated with here since it is inimical to the peaceful settlements of disputes. Therefore, it is essential to resolve political disputes peacefully through amicable negotiations and not through violence.
The Reasons Why Niger Delta/South-South Agitators Acted
A brief identification of the issues that prompted some youths of the Niger Delta/South-South to act to address decades-long economic and political problems might shade light in understanding the difference between the agitators in the oil region and Fulani herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers and jihadists who want to Islamize Nigeria.
First, Nigeria took away the natural right of ownership from the indigenes of the oil region, thereby depriving them of the ability to exercise authority over their resources. Hence, oil and gas exploration is totally operated by the Federal Government. The inhabitants of the oil region have no say whatsoever about the operations of the industry. The problem is that Nigeria treats the oil region very badly by not allowing private exploration and refining of oil and gas. The nationalization of liquid minerals results in pauperization of the inhabitants of the region and the destruction of the environment due to massive pollution and gas flaring. Due to the existential threat emanating from the way the Federal Government operates the oil industry, the agitators were pushed to the wall to let Nigeria know about the desperate plight of the region and to encourage it to change its reckless behavior. On the other hand, the Fulani cattle business is totally operated by individuals since it is a private enterprise, and the owners are in the business to make profit. The owners are basically private cattle business operators, but they want the government to finance their operations by providing them with free land, cattle feed, and associated services while they pocket the profit. Additionally, they want the government to provide and guarantee them cattle routes in the twenty-first century in a country with more than 230 million people. Boko Haram and other jihadist groups emerged as fronts for Islamizing Nigeria, hence, are destroying and killing people to forcefully impose Sharia on the country in the twenty-first century.
Second, the Niger Delta/South-South agitators took action to address inherent economic exploitation, injustice, and marginalization, following over five decades of national ownership, regulation and management of oil and gas exploration. Thus, the oil region suffered severely due to national neglect, discrimination, massive unemployment, and underdevelopment, despite being the nation’s source of national wealth. In other words, despite contributing massively to the national economy, the Federal Government ignored the region in its economic and infrastructural development agenda, thereby contributing to extreme poverty and environmental degradation. The neglect amounted to an existential threat, thereby necessitating action to address the dire situation in the oil region. Additionally, it should be noted that the oil wealth is massively looted by high-placed public officials to the disadvantage of the oil region and Nigerians in general.
Third, it should be noted that the oil wealth is used to fund the entire country, including the national government, 36 states, 774 local governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) for over 50 years. On the other hand, the cattle business is a private enterprise operated by individuals and cooperatives whose sole purpose is to make profit from the selling of cows, as indicated above. The profit generated is not deposited in the Federation Account (FA) and distributed to the national government, 36 states, 774 local governments, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) the way the oil wealth from the oil region is shared. This means that the profit generated from the cattle business goes directly into the pockets of those who own the cattle. Unlike the cattle business, the oil business in the Niger Delta/South-South is totally operated by the Federal Government and the wealth generated goes directly into the Federation Account and is distributed throughout the country. Thus, the owners of cattle make decisions about their products while the owners of oil and gas are not allowed to make decisions about their resources.
Fourth, while the Niger Delta/South-South bent backward to allow Nigeria to nationalize oil and gas ownership, and management, the Federal Government refuses to nationalize the ownership of solid minerals, including amethyst, aquamarine, barytes, bauxite, bentonite, bitumen, clay, coal, columbite, copper ore, gemstones, gypsum, gold, iron ore, lithium, manganese, mica, phosphate, pyrite, sapphire, tantalite, tin, tourmaline, wolframite, zircon, and so forth. In fact, there are about fifty or more solid minerals in Nigeria, but the national government is not eager to nationalize their ownership, thereby enabling individuals to mine them. Thus, individuals and cooperatives can create private wealth from mining solid minerals while individuals and cooperatives cannot explore and refine oil to earn private profit. Therefore, the indigenes of the oil region are held hostage by the national government and cannot make decisions about their resources. This leads to economic exploitation and injustice and the attendant agitation for a better economic relationship between the nation and the oil region. Cattle owners in Nigeria are not held hostage by the national government.
Fifth, the citizens of the oil region were and continued to be discriminated in employment while most Nigerian employees in the oil industry come from other regions of the country. Added to the employment discrimination is the fact that most oil blocks are given to Nigerians from the non-oil-producing regions. Thus, the direness of the situation led some youths of the region to agitate for better treatment of the region. They focused their actions specifically on addressing their plight in the oil region. They did not view other Nigerians as being inferior to them and neither did they call other Nigerians infidels. Their agitation was not driven by an ideology of conquest to take over Nigeria. They did not roam the country and hide in the forest to kill Nigerians, destroy their communities and displace them. They did not drive Nigerians away to take over their communities and rename them while forcing the indigenes to live in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Thus, as soon as President Umaru Yar’Adua decided to negotiate the issues with them, they stopped their operations. Since then, the oil region has experienced peace.
Sixth, to show that the agitators strongly believe in the success of the Nigerian project, it is not a coincidence that oil pipelines and facilities are being protected today by some of the same Niger Delta/South-South agitators to prevent oil bunkering and interruption in oil and gas operations, so that Nigeria’s economy could be stabilized for the betterment of the entire country. They did not threaten to take over Nigeria, instead, they called for a just political and economic treatment of all Nigerians to strengthen the unity of the country.
The Intentions of the Fulani Herdsmen, Bandits, Kidnappers and Jihadists
The intentions, goals, and actions of Fulani herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists are totally different from the intentions, goals, and actions of the Niger Delta/South-South agitators. To understand the difference, it is necessary to know that the genesis of the desire for Islamization which has given birth to the violent mayhem that is engulfing the country started with the declarative statements made by Sir Ahmadu Bello and other important Fulani leaders in Islamic North to arouse Fulanis and Muslims to act in fulfilment of Othman Dan Fodio’s aspiration for an Islamic state.
First, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the grandson of Othman Dan Fodio who launched a violent revolution to overthrow Hausa and other traditional African states, declared and commanded his people to act. He declared, “We the people of the north will continue our stated intention to conquer the south and to dip the Koran in the Atlantic Ocean after the British leave our shores” (Fani-Kayode, 2019, November 11). To emphasize the importance of the proposed war to Fulanize and Islamize Nigeria, he added: “The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate of our great grandfather Othman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We must use the minorities in the North as willing tools and the South as a conquered territory and never allow them to rule over us and… never allow them to have control over their future” (Awhefeada, 2018, January 15).
In support of Sir Ahmadu Bello’s declaration of a jihad to Islamize Nigeria under the leadership of the Fulani, Mallam Bala Garuba added to the fiery declaration: “The conquest to the sea is now in sight. When our god-sent Ahmadu Bello said some years ago that our conquest will reach the seashores of Nigeria, some idiots in the south were doubting its possibilities. Today have we not reached the sea? Lagos is reached. It remains Port Harcourt. It must be conquered and taken after December 30, 1964” (Nairaland Forum,2021, November 26).
Strongly believing that the British handed over Nigeria to the Islamic North to be led by the Fulanis, former Sultan Ibrahim Dasuku allegedly stated, “This country was given to we northerners by the British to rule. When they left the understanding between us was that the North would always lead and rule Nigeria” (Fani-Kayode, 2019, November 11).
In emphasizing the importance of the jihad being led by the Fulanis, even other Muslims are required to be crushed violently. Hence, another prominent Islamic leader in the North, Alhaji Aliyu Gwarzo reinforced the importance of using a jihad to claim Nigeria by allegedly saying: “It was either the Koran or the sword and most of them chose the Koran. In return for the good works of our forefathers, Allah, through the British, gave us Nigeria to rule and to do as we please. Since 1960 we have been doing that and we intend to continue” (Point Blank News, October 2, 2014). Angered by the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan, a Southern Christian wanted to continue to contest for the presidency, he declared:
- No Goodluck or anyone else will stop us from taking back our power next year. We will kill, maim, destroy and turn this country into Africa’s biggest war zone and refugee camp if they try it… When I say that the Presidency must come to the north next year, I am referring to the Hausa-Fulani core north and not any northern Christian or Muslim minority tribe…The Christians in the north such as the Berom, the Tiv, the Kataf, the Jaba, the Zuru, the Sayyawa, the Jukun, the Idoma, and all others are nothing and the Muslim minorities in the north, including the Kanuri, the Nupe, the Igbira, the Barbur, the Shuwa Arabs, the Marghur, and all the others know that when we are talking about leadership in the north and Nigeria, Allah has given it to us, the Hausa-Fulani” (Point Blank News, 2014, October 2).
According to Alhaji Gwarzo’s view, as indicated in the above quotation, the plan to establish a Fulanized Islamic state in Nigeria includes killing of other Muslims as well. Based on the significance of Islamizing Nigeria, retired Maj Gen. Muhammadu Buhari who became a Nigerian military head of state and a civilian president of the country encouraged Muslims in Nigeria not to vote for non-Muslims during elections. He said, “that Muslims should only vote for Muslims and those who will defend their faith” (Sahara reporters, 2021). To reinforce his belief in the Islamization of Nigeria, he added: “I will continue to show openly and inside me the total commitment to the Sharia movement that is sweeping all over Nigeria. God willing, we will not stop the agitation for the total implementation of the Sharia in the country” (Oyewole, 2014, December 24). Former Governor Nasir El-Rufai agreed with President Buhari by insisting on Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket (Babangida, n.d.).
These very powerful Islamic Northern leaders are quoted here to show that the desire to change Nigeria and turn it into an Islamic state is real. They provide the ideological basis for the violence being perpetrated in the country.
Two, based on the command given by Sir Ahmadu Bello to complete the dream of Othman Dan Fodio, the plan involves gradual introduction of armed conflict to destabilize and take over the country. Therefore, Boko Haram, Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), Fulani herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, Ansaru, Lakurawa, and the Mahmuda Group are parts of the same force organized to achieve the Islamization agenda. Thus, assigning different names such as herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists to the militant Islamists is merely diversionary tactics to confuse Nigerians to believe that herdsmen have a different goal from the bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists. Basically, in military parlance, these fighters are organized like different branches of a military organization. In a formalized military organization, there are infantry, artillery, commando, special forces, intelligence, air corps, drone and cyber force, missile force, paratroopers, rangers, and other divisions or branches. It is the same thing with these jihadist groups whose main goal is to inflict death and destruction with the aim of transforming the country into an Islamic state.
Third, apparently, the Boko Haram, ISWAP, herdsmen, Ansaru, Lakurawa, and Mahmuda Group are ideologically committed to taking over Nigeria. The Niger Delta/South-South agitators were not committed ideologically to destroying Nigeria; hence, it was easy to negotiate and reduce conflict in the oil region by addressing the bones of contention. On the other hand, the jihadist groups can never be satisfied with any negotiated settlement that does not include the Sharia and Islamization of Nigeria. Moreover, they are sponsored by some of the most powerful Nigerian political, military, and religious elites in Islamic Northern Nigeria. Even high-level public officials are involved in the project to change Nigeria.
Fourth, no amount of negotiation will end their struggle to Islamize Nigeria. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Benue, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Taraba, Borno, and Zamfara states have repeatedly negotiated with these armed groups without success. Some of these states have even paid large sums of money to the herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists several times to encourage them to stop the carnage. Despite the effort, the armed elements always return to continue their violent invasion, kidnapping, killing of people and destruction of communities (Abdulhamin, 2025, March 11). They are not likely to comply with the terms of any amnesty because they are ideologically committed to Islamizing Nigeria as Sir Ahmadu Bello had directed. They are ideologically committed to achieving their goal to the extent that they view non-Muslims in the country as infidels, hence inferior to them. This means that Ancestralists and Christians must convert to Islam or face the sword.
Fifth, to further show that no amount of negotiation will end the conflict unless Nigeria accepts their demand for Sharia and Islamization, the Nigerian Army compromised its defensive stand by accepting to rehabilitate, de-radicalize, and reintegrate surrendered and captured Boko Haram fighters, based on the suggestions of the leaders of the Islamic North. The rehabilitated and reintegrated former Boko Haram members are treated much better than their victims who now live in squalid refugee camps and treated as if they have no rights. Thus, you have the Nigerian Army bending backwards to accommodate jihadists who turned around to kill soldiers, police officers, civilians, and civil defense members.
Sixth, giving them amnesty will not end their determination to achieve the dream of Islamizing Nigeria. The reason is that as far as many Islamic leaders in the North believe in the declarations made by Othman Dan Fodio and Sir Ahmadu Bello, the foot soldiers of the jihad will never give up the struggle. It is not a coincidence that the leadership of the Islamic North has not made a strong statement to condemn the violence being perpetrated by herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists. This means that many leaders are in support of violence. It also means that they are aware of the long-term goal of eventually conquering and Islamizing the country. Hence, the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) was very quick to condemn the killings of 16 suspected herdsmen in Uromi in Edo State and demanded investigation and compensation from the state government (Popoola, 2025, March 30). Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State was quick to respond to the demands of the Islamic northern elders and commiserated with the governor and peoples of Kano state over the killings.
On the other hand, neither the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) nor any other group of Islamic Northern leaders has apologized to the states and families of over 100,000 Nigerians that have been killed by Boko Haram, ISWAP, herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, Ansaru and Mahmuda Group. It is amazing that not a single northern leader has strongly pleaded with the violent elements to stop their rampage. Instead, the leaders have consistently called for granting the killers amnesty as if the lives of those Nigerians killed are not important. Perhaps, they view the victims as infidels that do not deserve any pity, as far as they are not Muslims. It was not surprising that prominent northern elites have pleaded with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Defense, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd), not to use the Nigerian military fully to destroy the bandits. Even Prof Usman Yusuf insisted that the bandits whom he referred to as freedom fighters, should not be killed while they continue their rampage by kidnapping and killing Nigerians (Idiri, 2025, December 19). The opposition to the full deployment of the military to tackle the problem of insecurity in the country is clear evidence of the fact that the jihad is strongly supported by many northern Islamic elites.
Thus, jihadists are not likely to uphold the conditions of amnesty as Niger Delta/South-South agitators because they are ideologically committed to capturing Nigeria. The doubt about their willingness to uphold the conditions of amnesty is influenced by the fact that several negotiations between them and several states ended in failure. They often negotiate with state and local community leaders to stop their violent operations. Following negotiations, they stop temporarily after having been paid by the governments and later resume the cycle again. The Nigeria Risk Index noted:
In recent months, several northern Nigerian states – Katsina, Zamfara, Kaduna, and Sokoto – have embarked on a controversial experiment: negotiating peace deals with armed bandit groups that have terrorized rural communities for years. These agreements, aimed at halting kidnappings, violent raids, and mass displacement, mark a significant shift from the state’s traditional reliance on military force to a more negotiated approach.
Moreover, the tactical gains from negotiations may prove short-lived if not backed by a comprehensive strategy. History shows that many armed groups use ceasefires as opportunities to regroup, rearm, and reposition. The absence of rigorous monitoring mechanisms leaves state authorities vulnerable to manipulation, and today’s truce can easily become tomorrow’s escalation (Nigeria Risk Index, n.d.).
Seventh, it is necessary to remind Nigerians that violent riots necessitated by religious animosity have taken place most frequently in Islamic Northern Nigeria than in any other part of the country. The list of religiously motivated riots included the Tafawa Balewa riots of 1948 (which reoccurred in 1959, 1977, 1991, 1995, 2001, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012), the 1953 riots which lasted for four days following a dispute over the date or time for declaring Nigerian independence, the pogrom against the Igbos following the second counter-military coup of July 29, 1966, the 1970s -80s Maitatsine riots that gripped the North, the 2004 religious war in Yelwa leading to the deaths of hundreds of Muslims, Boko Haram riots starting from 2008 that blossomed into a full-blown jihad, and so forth. In short, the Islamic North is the most volatile part of Nigeria because of religious zealots who preach and encourage jihad against infidels.
Eighth, Niger Delta/South-South agitators had no plan whatsoever to capture the entire country through sheer violence and turn it into something else. On the other hand, armed herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists are committed to turning the entire country upside down and Islamizing it. Therefore, any amnesty given them will only provide an opportunity for them to escalate their demands since their goal is ideologically driven to convert Ancestralists and Christians into Muslims through the sword.
Ninth, the jihadists in Nigeria are following a model that had been executed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and Russia. In Russia, the government took decisive military action to stop the jihad in the North Caucasus region, especially in Chechnya, Dagestan, and Ingushetia. The jihadists in Nigeria know that they must be tactical and committed to a long-term struggle to achieve their goal. Therefore, the jihadists in Nigeria are motivated by Al Qaida, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, the Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, and the Taliban. They are not worried about their members being killed as they continue the struggle to achieve their goal. Commodore Kunle Olawunmi, the retired former director of military intelligence in the Nigerian Defense Headquarters explained the objective of the jihad by saying:
There are some hardliners in this government that are sponsoring this kind of narratives. They just want to show that they can Islamize this country. They think about Taliban, they think about the Mujahedeen, and they want to replicate it in this country.
And they don’t care what happens. They simply don’t care. As long as at the end of the day, the Sharia and there is, whatever thing they have in their head, they want to achieve. The intention is to Islamize Nigeria. And practice Sharia. And it doesn’t matter if some people die. It doesn’t matter if our economy degenerates (Oyeniran, 2024, October 27).
Tenth, unlike Niger Delta/South-South agitators who only wanted economic and political injustices to be addressed by Nigeria, the armed herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers and jihadists are using violence to ensure population displacement, especially in Central Nigeria and hope to replace them with Fulanis. To ensure population displacement, they sack indigenous communities and force the residents to flee so that their people can occupy the communities. This is why the names of some displaced communities have been changed to reflect Fulani and Islamic coloration. This is going on in Benue, Kaduna, Katsina, Niger, Plateau, Taraba and Zamfara states. Surprisingly, the Islamists among the leaders of the Islamic North have never ordered their people who have occupied other peoples’ communities to vacate them. The silence of the Fulani leadership in the Islamic North means that the policy of displacement is accepted by some of the leaders. Therefore, an amnesty will not solve the problem of indigenous displacement. The Federal Government is terrified of the power of the Islamic North to the extent that it has failed to take decisive steps to reclaim the communities for the rightful owners. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dances around the issue, instead of fully mobilizing the military forces to stop the mayhem. He was very quick to deploy Nigeria’s military forces to Benin Republic but has not been willing to fully mobilize the military forces to weed out the jihadists in Nigeria.
Eleventh, it seems that amnesty is being sought as a tactical weapon to further enhance Sharia and the Islamization of the country. Otherwise, it is strange that while individuals like Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi insist that the Federal Government should negotiate and give violent armed herders, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists an amnesty, these fighters continue to spread all over the country to kidnap and kill Nigerians. Why are they spreading and hiding in the forests in many parts of the country to carry out kidnappings and killings of people if they want amnesty? If they were really interested in amnesty, they would not be intentionally spreading their tentacles and increasing the level of violent attacks. In many parts of the country, truckloads of young Fulani men have been caught heading to different parts of the country to reinforce their fighters. If herdsmen and jihadists want amnesty, they would not be transporting young men all over the country to camp in the forest. The fact that they are tactically placing their members in strategic locations throughout the country indicates that they are not ready for amnesty since they are mobilizing and reinforcing for war.
Twelfth, Sheikh Gumi and other supporters of violent jihadists seem to want amnesty as a strategy to shield the identities of terrorism sponsors in the country. The reason is that if amnesty is granted to the foot soldiers who are rampaging through the country to inflict death and destruction, then there will be no need to arrest and prosecute those who are sponsoring or financing them. In other words, giving an amnesty to the terrorists is tantamount to giving an amnesty to those who sponsor the terrorists. Thus, amnesty is an excellent strategic tool to hide the names of terrorism sponsors. If the names of the sponsors are not publicly released, arrested and tried, then the struggle to Islamize Nigeria will continue since the sponsors are the brains behind the entire mayhem. The Federal Government, especially the president and members of the National Assembly, should not make the mistake of granting amnesty, otherwise, the national government will inadvertently support the terrorization of the country by failing to arrest and prosecute terrorism sponsors.
Thirteenth, it is strategically unwise for Nigeria to consider granting amnesty to herdsmen and jihadists because the Islamization agenda is part of a global goal to Islamize not only Nigeria, but West Africa and the rest of the continent. As such, the Nigerian sponsors of terrorism receive financial and tactical assistance from Al Qaeda, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and some foreign countries that are desirous of Islamizing Nigeria. Consequently, granting amnesty to the jihadists in Nigeria will not stop the violence since the long-term goal is to Islamize the country. Due to the long-term goal of the violence being perpetrated, if Nigeria grants amnesty to the current groups, other groups will emerge to continue the struggle. Likewise, if they are given amnesty, some of the current groups may change their names and continue as if they are new groups since they are ideologically committed to their struggle.
Moreover, there is no guarantee that after the current groups have been granted amnesty, the international jihadist movements will not create new ones to continue the struggle. It should be noted that Jihadist movements are also supported by foreign states which are directing the Islamization of the globe.
Fourteenth, if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu grants amnesty to the ideologically driven Islamic jihadists, it will create the impression that he did it to shield the identities of terrorism sponsors in Nigeria. Such action could lead to the implication that, perhaps, some top officials of the Tinubu administration are involved in terrorism sponsorship. The other implication would be that the sponsors are more powerful than the Nigerian state, hence, are above the law and cannot be arrested and prosecuted. Such impression could lead to the view that Nigeria is not a sovereign state, but a semiautonomous political entity controlled by individuals from the Islamic North who are more powerful than the state. President Tinubu cannot and should not allow such impression to develop because it will tarnish the image of Nigeria internationally. This possibility should not be discounted because the United Arab Emirates (UAE), an Islamic state, did not waste a minute in prosecuting six Nigerian sponsors of terrorism while Nigeria continues to hesitate to do so. If President Donald Trump of the United States had not spoke about the genocidal killings of Christians and warned about the possibility of intervention, it is doubtful whether the Nigerian Government would have waken up to its responsibility of protecting the citizens through mobilizing the military forces if President Trump had not beamed a search light on the issue of genocide. This is why many Nigerians are thankful to President Trump for compelling President Tinubu to pay attention to the insecurity in the country.
Fifteenth, a major difference between Fulani herdsmen, Boko Haram, ISWAP, Lakurawa, Ansaru, and Mahmuda Group and Niger Delta/South-South agitators is that the Islamists have a strong dislike for Western education, just like the Aghan Taliban while the agitators had a strong desire for the acquisition of Western education. This is why many former agitators went to school and even earned university degrees and certificates through specialized training in certain technical fields because they want to contribute positively to the development of society. On the other hand, the jihadists do not encourage the acquisition of Western education, hence, the Islamic North has the largest number of children who could barely read or write. The sad part of the campaign against Western education by Boko Haram and other jihadists is that the Arabs who spread Islam to Africa have a strong desire for their children to acquire Western education. The increasing technological development of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, and so forth, testifies to the desire of Islamic countries in other parts of the world to develop scientifically and technologically through the acquisition of Western education. It is ironic that the Arabs who spread Islam are desirous of enhancing their societies through acquisition of Western education while some Black African Muslims (Nigerians) who were Islamized by the Arabs oppose the acquisition of Western education. No wonder, the Islamic North continues to drag Nigeria backwards.
Sixteenth, it would be a major strategic miscalculation for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to grant amnesty to jihadists because they are waging a war based on Islamic tactics of warfare. In Islamic form of warfare, Tagiyya is a strategy of deception used to deceive the enemy by denying, lying, manipulating, and pretending until victory is achieved. Another tactic of warfare to deceive the enemy is to constantly call for peace talks or temporary cessation of hostilities through treaties. During such temporary cessation of hostilities, the Islamic forces reinforce and re-strategize to take the enemy by surprise with a much greater force. This tactic is known as Al-hudaybiyya. Therefore, when Sheikh Gumi and a host of Islamic leaders in the North call for amnesty, they are doing so to buy time to reinforce, re-strategize and remobilize to increase the level of attacks and overwhelm Nigerians. Consequently, it is foolhardy to grant amnesty to the violent groups when they have not demonstrated a desire to cease operations.
Conclusion
Based on the above discussion, there is no equivalence between the actions of the Niger Deta/South-South agitators and herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers, and jihadists who have inflicted so much carnage on the Nigerian state. The difference is demonstrated by the fact that the agitators easily agreed to a ceasefire, disarmament and amnesty in exchange for the Federal Government to address some of their grievances. On the other hand, Fulani herdsmen and Islamists are ideologically driven to destroy Nigeria and recreate it as an Islamic state.
It would amount to a monumental strategic failure for the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant amnesty to groups that are bent on destroying Nigeria by terrorizing the country to bring it to its knees. The jihadists are not interested in any peace that will not result in the Sharia and Islamization of the country, as directed by Sir Ahmadu Bello. Moreover, their agenda for Nigeria is supported by global jihadist groups and foreign countries that want to Islamize Nigeria. Thus, granting amnesty will provide them with the opportunity to re-strategize, reinforce and prepare for a much bigger offensive after having encountered resistance from the Nigerian populace.
Indeed, the ultimate goal of the jihadist groups is to transform Nigeria from a multireligious secular state into an Islamic state. They are very tactical in implementing the goal to avoid arousing Nigerians to react forcefully to stop them. Two of the principal instruments being used to trick and deceive Nigerians are taqiyya and Al-hudaybiyya. There is no doubt that a considerable number of the Northern Islamic elites support the jihad. This is why they do not want Nigeria to unleash the military against herdsmen bandits, and jihadists.
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