Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, has again defended herdsmen on their alleged roles in the insecurity gripping Nigeria.
According to him, those engaging in kidnapping among the herders learnt the act from Niger Deltan militants, MEND.
Speaking on an AIT programme on Tuesday, he said they served to be granted amnesty like MEND.
He said:
“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 learnt kidnapping from MEND. I do not see any difference. They were the first victims of rustling. Their cattle is 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 themselves can take care of the little remnants of criminals among themselves because they don’t want anybody to bring mayhem to them.”
