Gumi made the claim during a television interview with DRtv while defending his meetings with various armed groups.

Controversial Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, has alleged that the Nigerian government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu knows the identities and locations of all terrorists operating in the country.

Gumi made the claim during a television interview with DRtv while defending his meetings with various armed groups.

“The government knows every terrorist by name and location,” he said. “I do not go to meet the terrorists alone. I inform the police, the security agencies and everyone involved. I also go to the emirs in those areas.”

He added that he does not travel alone when visiting such locations.
“In fact, when we went to meet one terrorist group, I even went there with women. You may not have seen it because the cameras were not focused there, but I never go alone,” he said.

Earlier in December 2025, Gumi had also alleged that powerful foreign actors were backing armed groups and terrorist networks operating across Nigeria.

He warned that the recent surge in deadly attacks appeared too coordinated to be purely local.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, the cleric said the sudden escalation of violence after months of relative calm suggested the involvement of external forces with the resources and capacity to destabilise the country.

According to him, the pattern of recent attacks indicates that foreign interests may be fuelling insecurity in Nigeria.

Gumi, who has long advocated dialogue with armed groups, pointed to the Abuja–Kaduna Highway once considered one of the most dangerous roads in the country noting that the route had become significantly safer until the latest wave of violence.

He also said residents of Birnin Gwari, an area long known as a centre of banditry, had begun returning to their farms before the attacks resumed.

Gumi linked the renewed violence to recent international discussions about Nigeria.

“There was a statement made by some foreign countries, and for a long time we have suspected that these terrorists and extremists receive foreign support.

From the nature of their weapons, it is clear they are getting assistance from outside,” he said.
“These are powerful and wealthy foreign individuals who have the means to infiltrate and interfere in the affairs of other nations.”

He insisted that the timing of the recent incidents was suspicious.

“Whenever Nigeria is accused of something, conflict suddenly erupts to make the narrative appear true,” he said.

Addressing criticism of his long-standing call for dialogue with bandits, Gumi argued that many people ignore the root causes of the insurgency.

“Everyone knows them. But what people do not discuss is this: what caused people we once lived peacefully with to turn against us and become a menace in society? There must be a reason,” he said.

He described the perpetrators as individuals acting out of ignorance and misguidance.

“There are two kinds of people whose actions should not surprise anyone the insane and the ignorant. Whatever they do is destructive,” he said.

Gumi also claimed that his attempts to engage and preach to the armed groups were not supported by the previous administration.

“When we tried to reach them and tell them that stealing and kidnapping are forbidden, the government did not support us. If that support had been given, this issue might have been resolved.”

Responding to critics who accuse him of defending criminals, Gumi insisted that his approach is based on religious duty and conflict-resolution principles rather than sympathy for armed groups.

“Our religion does not support oppression. Everything we are doing is for the sake of Allah,” he said.

Join us on our WhatsApp Platform @KOIKIMEDIA NEWS YOUR PAGE

koikimedia Bringing the World 🌎 Closer to Your Doorstep