Popular Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has given an insight into the kidnapping of pupils of a government school in Kagara, Niger State.
According to him, it was no carried out by bandits known to the person he called the warlord of bandits in the state.
This is as he renewed call for blanket amnesty for the bandits.
In an interview with ‘The Punch’, he said “I spoke to the warlord there (Niger State) and he does not know the current situation of things (about the kidnapped Kagara pupils). There is a communication gap because the forest is vast. The terrain does not leave room for expediency. But I believe that ultimately, they will be released today (Sunday). They could have been released now, but before they get to the town, it will take time. When we left them (the bandits), it took us from 6pm to 3am before we reached home.
“People don’t know the Fulani at all. They are not after money. Even when they are burning houses in Oyo, don’t you see where they live? They stay in huts. They are not into buying flashy cars. They just like their cattle. The money they are collecting from kidnappings, they are buying weapons with them. The more you fight them, the more they fight back. They don’t surrender. They are saying if the air force continues to pester them, they will have to get anti-aircraft.
“Not all of them are criminals; the hard-line (position) taken against them turned them into the militants that they are. They showed me a village, which does not belong to the Fulani, but was bombarded by the air force. A well was filled with dead bodies. The air force killed them because they thought it’s a Fulani enclave, if they are Fulani, what about the wives and children? It is the military that produced these monsters, just like they did with the Boko Haram. We need dialogues with them.
“I am encouraged because I have started seeing instant results. The bandits; nobody can call them except we use the religious card. So, these people making noises, let them try to see if they can get them to listen. They don’t respect any authority because they have formed an authority of their own. But if you speak to them and say, ‘This is sacrilege to the sanctity of religion, they’ll listen. So, why won’t we explore it?”
