Nigeria’s Defence Minister, Lt. Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd), has issued a stark warning to citizens sympathizing with armed bandits, declaring that anyone who defends or justifies criminal activity bears responsibility for its consequences.
Speaking in Maiduguri on Wednesday, General Musa made clear his position: “A friend of a thief is a thief.” The statement directly challenges rhetoric from Sheikh Ahmed Gumi and others who have previously described bandits operating in Nigeria’s forests as “our brothers” and suggested their presence is an unavoidable reality.
The Defence Minister’s remarks distinguish between genuine compassion and dangerous complicity. While acknowledging that empathy has value, he argued that normalizing terrorism only emboldens the criminal networks responsible for widespread devastation across northern communities—networks that have displaced countless families and taken numerous lives.
General Musa emphasized that terrorism depends on more than firearms and funding. It requires moral cover, he said, and those who excuse or shield criminals through public statements, personal influence, or deliberate silence must accept their share of blame for the resulting harm.
According to the minister, neutrality is impossible when national security hangs in the balance. Nigeria cannot successfully combat banditry and terrorism while influential voices obscure the distinction between innocent victims and armed perpetrators.
“The choice is clear,” Musa stated. “Stand with the law and the nation, or be counted among those enabling crime.”
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