By Hon. Comrade James Onifade 
By: Hon Comrade James Onifade
Nigeria has perfected the art of letting politics overshadow governance, even after elections end. Nowhere is this more dangerous than in our fight against terrorism, where political calculations consistently trump national security.
The Terrorism Industry Reality
Let’s be blunt: terrorism in Nigeria is an industry, complete with sponsors, intermediaries, negotiators, and beneficiaries. Like any industry, it has supply chains, financial flows, and stakeholders profiting from its existence. The difference? This one trades in blood and national destruction.
The current US military intervention addresses only symptoms, not root causes. American airstrikes can eliminate commanders and destroy camps, but they cannot dismantle the financial networks funding these groups. They cannot arrest political sponsors providing protection. They cannot prosecute intermediaries facilitating ransom payments and weapons procurement. And they certainly cannot touch the so-called “negotiators” who’ve turned banditry into a cottage industry.
Gumi To Be Questioned
I have consistently raised concerns about Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s impunity and his troubling activities. Yet, what has the government done? Nothing. He continues walking freely on Nigerian streets despite his unprecedented access to bandit camps, his communication with wanted criminals, and his multiple “negotiations” on behalf of terrorists.
The recent arrest of one of Gumi’s aides in Benin Republic should have been a wake-up call. This aide was linked to kidnapping activities along the Kaduna road. When his house was raided, substantial amounts of money were discovered. Investigation is ongoing, but the question screams at us: if someone in Gumi’s inner circle is connected to kidnapping operations, what about Gumi himself?
Questions That Demand Answers
In any serious country including the United States whose military intervention Gumi now opposes, such a person would have been questioned under oath long ago. Not as persecution, but as standard investigative procedure. Security agencies would demand to know:
• How did he establish contact with these terrorist groups?
• What information has he shared with them?
• Has money changed hands in his “negotiations”?
• Does he possess knowledge of planned attacks he failed to report?
• Has he ever transported funds, supplies, or messages for armed groups?
Gumi’s connections with bandits go far beyond what Nigerians see publicly. His access, his influence, his negotiations all suggest a relationship that requires thorough investigation.
Gumi represents just one part of a larger intermediaries’ network facilitating communication between terrorists and various interests. These intermediaries move between forest hideouts and government offices, between bandits and bureaucrats, between criminals and politicians. They become essential cogs in the terrorism machine.
Behind them are the real powers: the sponsors. These individuals with deep pockets and deeper political connections fund terrorist operations for political destabilization, ethnic agendas, business interests, or lucrative ransom returns. Many occupy positions of influence in legislatures, government, business empires. Touching them is politically costly, so governments ignore them and focus on foot soldiers instead.
This is why every military victory is temporary. For every bandit eliminated, sponsors recruit ten more. For every camp destroyed, they establish three others.
There’s a narrow window during this American military pressure to act decisively. If we emerge from these operations without investigating sponsors, intermediaries, and negotiators like Gumi, we waste a crucial opportunity. Terrorists will regroup. Violence will resume. Future blood will be on the hands of politicians who chose political convenience over national security.
My call is unequivocal: Sheikh Gumi must be invited for questioning immediately. So must every individual who has served as an intermediary with terrorist groups. Security agencies must investigate the financial and political networks sustaining terrorism. The government must prosecute anyone providing material support to armed groups, regardless of their position.
This isn’t about persecuting religious leaders. This is about establishing that in Nigeria, no one is above the law. It’s about demonstrating that our government prioritizes citizens’ lives over political calculations.
The terrorism industry thrives on our inaction. Every day we delay questioning Gumi and dismantling these networks, we sign the death warrants of future victims. Nigeria must choose: governance or politics, action or regret, justice or complicity.
E-signed: Hon. Comrade James Onifade
Advocate for Good Governance and A Better Judicial System
Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin