Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, yesterday, condemned the ongoing military operation launched against armed bandits in Zamfara and others neighbouring states in the North West geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Gumi who described the military bombardments as futile, alleged that the bandits had since escaped while only the innocent residents of the area were suffering the effects of the military action. In a post he made on his verified Facebook page, Gumi said that unknown to Nigerians, the bandits had, over the years, developed escape routes from aerial bombardments, adding that the current onslaught will only affect women and children. Gumi renewed his advocacy for the Federal Government to grant amnesty to the bandits, insisting that “war has never been the solution anywhere, anytime.”
The cleric denied having any sympathy for criminals and said he was only concerned about his state, Nigeria and humanity. Gumi who is a regular visitor to the forest hideouts of the bandits had consistently advised the government to negotiate with them in order to bring an end to banditry in the region. “I am an Islamic scholar who knows the immorality of killing innocent lives.
So, silence for me in this ocean of oblivion is not an option. A sensible person would not allow his dwelling to be a theatre of war. Killing rats in your rat-infested sitting room with an iron rod will only end up destroying your gadgets and furniture probably without killing any. We should not mask out poor governance with artillery power. “Some said we have tried amnesty but it didn’t work. You didn’t try amnesty but tried amnesia. Amnesty without rehabilitation, reconciliation, and reparation is no amnesty. Ask the former Niger Delta Militants who killed security men in the past what an amnesty is. What stops us from having a federal ministry of Nomadic Affairs where their grievances and complaints will be addressed? “All the bandit leaders we saw complained of how some repentant ones were picked and extra-judicially killed after the surrender of their weapons.
Without their trust of the very unjust system all Nigerians complain of, which they took arms to fight, peace and negotiations with them will not work. This brings our role of mediation. “They (bandits) know as religious men we will not deceive them, and they came out in troops to meet us. To our astonishment, it is the same unjust system that turns round to betray our peace mission,” he said.
