Prominent Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has condemned Tuesday’s attack on a mosque in Katsina State, describing it as an abomination and calling for urgent dialogue to end the cycle of violence.
In a statement issued yesterday, Gumi said the killings of worshippers during prayers reflected the worsening security situation in the country and demanded “sober reflection and a frank review” of the crisis.
“It’s an abomination in all religions to kill an unarmed person, let alone one in prayers,” he said, warning that the conflicts consuming communities were dragging the nation backwards despite trillions of naira spent on defence over decades.
The cleric pointed to the farmer-herder clashes and religiously-tinged violence as “the elephant in the room,” insisting that only dialogue — not military force — could resolve the crisis.
“All experts, military, academia, and sociologists have said that in such pseudo ethnic conflicts, only the non-kinetic dialogue approach works. Yet, those opposed to it are the same people crying from the disastrous consequences of kinetic methods”, he said, citing recent incidents where innocent civilians were killed in military operations and reprisals.
Gumi urged the Government and stakeholders to convene a “holistic public dialogue” that addresses grievances, compensates victims, and rehabilitates both bandits and vigilante groups.
Quoting Islamic teachings, he reminded Muslims of the Prophet’s warning that when two Muslims confront each other with weapons, “both the slayer and the slain are doomed to Hellfire,” and stressed the protection of non-Muslims under peace treaties.
“Enough is enough,” he declared. “May Allah abate the fire of ethnic conflagration, bigotry, and insecurity in our dear land”.
