Eshiorameh Sebastian
A United Kingdom based Catholic cleric, Rev. Nick Donnelly, has formally called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for prominent Nigerian Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, citing his, wcontroversial comments on banditry and kidnappings.
The call, made in a statement on Donnelly’s X (formerly Twitter) account on Monday, urges the Hague-based court to try Gumi on charges of crimes against humanity.
This appeal follows a recent viral video in which Sheikh Gumi, known for his dialogues with bandits, insisted that “there is no Christian genocide” in Nigeria. In the same clip, he appeared to justify the actions of armed herdsmen, stating, “Herdsmen are not like the Indigenous People of Biafra; they are kidnapping children to make money. Let’s be fair with them.”
Rev. Donnelly interpreted these remarks as an endorsement of criminality. “Gumi supports ‘herdsmen’, aka Islamist terrorists, kidnapping children to make money. The ICC needs to issue an arrest warrant on charges of crimes against humanity. Gumi needs to stand trial in the Hague,” Donnelly wrote.
The call for Gumi’s prosecution arrives amid a heated national debate on Nigeria’s justice system. This debate was ignited last week when Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was handed a life sentence for terrorism charges.
In Nigeria, there have been public calls for the arrest of high profile figures advocating for dialogue with armed groups and secessionists. Among them is Peter Obi, who recently urged the federal government to hold talks with Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed IPOB group, shortly after Kanu was sentenced to life imprisonment for terrorism.
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