Hire Bandits As Forest Guards – Gumi

Posted by Tolulope Ogugua Featured, Latest Headlines, News Across Nigeria, News From The State Thursday, June 24th, 2021

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Islamic Scholar Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi has urged the federal government to engage the services of bandits as forest guard

Gumi, who was a guest on Arise News morning show, claimed that some soldiers were conniving with bandits to perpetrate crime and the blame should not be for bandits alone.

He said banditry was a result of neglect by the government, adding that some of the bandits are children, just like their abductees.

“Why are they (child bandits) not in school?” he asked.

Gumi urged the Federal Government to offer amnesty to criminal herdsmen engaged in banditry and kidnapping.

He said the bandits do not kidnap to kill but to make money.

Gumi said the bandits were not averse to negotiation, pointing out that Boko Haram, at a point, trusted President Muhammadu Buhari to negotiate on its behalf.

According to him, amnesty for killer herdsmen should come with rehabilitation and social amenities.

On why amnesty for bandits is important, he said they control large chunks of land and thus are hampering the economy by preventing farming, just as the activities of militants in the Niger Delta affected oil production before they were granted amnesty.

“They can be used as forest guards,” Gumi suggested.

He said there is a tribal war going on in Nigeria and that the government was taking sides.

He claimed that herdsmen in parts of the country were unsafe and at risk of being killed.