Dalena Reporters | November 16, 2025
The Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá, has issued a dramatic call for intervention by the President of the United States, urging that Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi be compelled to guide security forces to the hideouts of armed militias terrorizing Nigeria. According to the union, Gumi’s repeated public defence of terrorists and his self-proclaimed role as a mediator demonstrate that he possesses intimate knowledge of where these criminal networks operate.
In a statement released on Sunday by Union Convener Olusola Badero through Home Director Princess Balogun, the group highlighted that if Gumi could escort journalists and government officials into remote forest enclaves for “peace missions,” he should also be obligated to assist in dismantling the very networks he claims to negotiate with. The union described Nigeria as a “near–banana republic,” where northern government officials publicly interact with terrorists while negotiating with individuals responsible for murder, kidnapping, rape, and other atrocities.
The organization specifically criticized Sheikh Gumi for justifying armed bandit activities on ethnic grounds and for consistently dismissing calls for his arrest as politically motivated. The union stated that his defence of terrorist actions has emboldened criminal networks, resulting in widespread devastation across rural communities. While Gumi claims to have facilitated the surrender of over 600 bandits, the union insisted that this does not absolve him of responsibility, citing his continued public support of violent actors.
Ìgbìnmó Májékóbájé Ilé-Yorùbá condemned the escalating insecurity across southern and northern Nigeria, detailing how armed groups have destroyed farmlands, invaded churches and mosques, kidnapped worshippers, burnt villages, and killed residents despite ransom payments. The union dismissed Gumi’s argument that these acts were reactions to poor social amenities, noting that no other ethnic group has turned mass murder, kidnapping, and land occupation into a systematic practice.
The group further accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of negligence, alleging that the government’s inaction and denial of atrocities amount to complicity. It highlighted that both Christians and Muslims in affected regions have been slaughtered, primarily at the hands of armed Fulani militias operating with apparent political protection.
In an unprecedented appeal, the Yoruba Union urged the U.S. government to pressure President Tinubu to order Gumi’s arrest and prosecution for allegedly shielding terrorists while possessing knowledge of their hideouts, financiers, and weapons suppliers. The union stressed that if Nigeria’s government continues to negotiate with armed groups rather than dismantle their networks, the international community must intervene.
“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,” the statement said. The organization vowed to continue raising global awareness of the crisis, calling it “one of the darkest chapters in Nigeria’s history,” with communities abandoned, security forces overwhelmed, and millions living under the shadow of terrorism. The union concluded emphatically: “Enough is enough. Those aiding and defending terrorists must face justice, no matter their status, title, or connections.”