Pro-democracy and civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of controversial Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, over what it described as his persistent public defence and glorification of terrorist groups wreaking havoc across northern Nigeria.
In a strongly worded statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA accused the Federal Government of double standards in enforcing the nation’s counterterrorism laws, alleging that Gumi has continued to enjoy state protection despite his open sympathy for bloodthirsty bandits and terrorists.
The rights group said it was “morally outrageous” that the government has kept Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), in prolonged detention “for merely advocating self-determination,” while the Kaduna-based cleric “walks freely after years of offering propaganda support to mass murderers.”
HURIWA reminded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu that the country’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 prescribes capital punishment for those aiding or promoting terrorism.
“The same government that detains a civilian agitator indefinitely cannot continue to turn a blind eye to an Islamist cleric openly canvassing amnesty for terrorists who have killed over 40,000 Nigerians,” HURIWA said.
The association condemned reports of state-sponsored protests in some northern states against U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent warning to bomb terrorist enclaves in Nigeria, describing them as “disgraceful and dangerous.”
“It is shocking that certain northern politicians are funding street protests in defence of terrorists and against U.S. military action targeting mass murderers,” the statement read. “If this doesn’t expose the sponsors of terror in Nigeria, what else will?”
HURIWA warned that such protests could embolden extremist networks while undermining Nigeria’s counter terrorism efforts.
The group also cited recent remarks by Sheikh Gumi on Trust TV, where he again defended bandits, claiming they were merely “on revenge missions.”
“Everybody knows the herdsmen. They don’t just attack people without any cause,” Gumi was quoted as saying.
HURIWA insisted that such statements amount to “propaganda and justification of terrorism,” urging security agencies to “act decisively” rather than “pamper” the cleric.
Backing calls by Prophet Isa El-Buba, General Overseer of El-Buba Outreach Ministries, for Gumi’s arrest, HURIWA said the move could help dismantle Nigeria’s terror networks “within a week.”
“El-Buba was right — arresting Gumi will open the lid on the real sponsors and enablers of banditry and terrorism in the North,” Onwubiko added.
The group further accused the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) of complicity in the insecurity plaguing the region, echoing El-Buba’s claim that the association “controls 80 percent of what is going on.”
HURIWA reiterated that freedom of expression under Chapter 4 of the Constitution does not extend to promoting terrorism or defending mass murderers.
“Gumi has crossed every legal and moral line,” the group said. “The failure to arrest him is not just discriminatory — it’s a national disgrace.”
The association urged northern governors and the Federal Government to “stop shielding extremists” and instead “stand with the victims of terror, not their defenders.”
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