A remark by former Labour Party vice-presidential candidate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed has ignited widespread debate after he referred to armed bandît groups as “gentlemen in the forest” during a live interview on Arise News on Friday, November 28, 2025.
The comment came as Baba-Ahmed reacted to President Bola Tinubu’s nationwide security emergency and the gôvernment’s new strategy to tackle the escalating wave of kîdnappings and rural attåcks.
In challenging the official classification of the armed actors, Baba-Ahmed argued that the term “jihadist” is being wrongly applied.
“It is laughable to say that you will bring forest guards to challenge the gentlemen in the forest. They are gentlemen in the forest, they are not jihadîsts,” he said, insisting that the groups operating in Nîgeria’s forests lack any ideological foundation that justifies the label of jihad.
He explained that while the groups commit vîôlent crimes, including mass abductions, school attacks, and extortion, their operations are not rooted in religious extremism. Instead, he claimed, their existence reflects deeper gövernance faîlures.
His remarks immediately sparked controversy, with many viewers questioning his choice of language and the implications of describing vîôlent actors as “gentlemen.”
Critics argue that the phrasing appears to downplay the severity of the crîmes committed by the groups, while supporters say he was drawing attention to political mischaracterization and misdiagnosis of Nîgeria’s security problem.
Naija news channel
