A popular Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi has said bandits
learnt kidnapping from the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND).
Gumi made the claims on Tuesday while speaking on an Africa
Independent Television (AIT) programme.
According to the cleric, the bandits deserve to be granted
amnesty just the way the Federal Government granted the militants.
He expressed optimism that if the government could grant
amnesty to the bandits, they will expose those perpetrating criminality.
“We didn’t take a different route of trying to solve this
problem and that is why we are still here today. And when we say amnesty, we
don’t mean that anyone proved to be involved in murder should go free as such.”
“They learned about kidnapping from MEND. I do not see any
difference. They were the first victims of rustling. Their cattle are their
oil. What we are seeing now is more of an insurgency than banditry. I can say
10 percent of the herders are criminals, not 90 percent, in the end, they took
up weapons to protect themselves from extinction.
“They can take care of the little remnants of criminals
among themselves because they don’t want anybody to bring mayhem to them,” he
said.
Recall that the Sheik recently met with some bandits in the
forest appealing to them to embrace peace.
Following his meeting with the bandits, Gumi asked the
federal government to pardon them, however, many prominent Nigerians including
some governors rejected his recommendation, saying kidnappers must be punished.
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