Cleric Warns Nigerians Against Colluding With Bandits

Nigerians have been warned against conspiring with bandits and other criminals against the armed forces.

The Amir of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat of Nigeria, Alatoye Azeez who gave the warning while speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise monitored in Abuja yesterday, urged Nigerians to support the armed forces in the fight against insurgency and banditry across the country.

He said, “We can’t be colluding with bandits, terrorists, turning them against the soldiers. That is so ungodly and that is a lack of sense of sacrifice because as they are sacrificing themselves, we also have to sacrifice ourselves by supporting them fully.

“I can’t see that support for them, and a lot of them, you know, are dying, still, they are still committed. I also have a very strong belief we must provide very strong support to them.”

The cleric who also spoke on the lessons of the Eid-el-Kabir, said Nigerians must demonstrate the correct spirit of sacrifice as exemplified by the Nigerian military.

He added, “Unfortunately, the soldiers sacrifice their lives on the war front, but I do not see that level of sacrifice from the nation backing them up. It’s like we are pushing them forward to war fronts.

“But we are turning back from them and leaving them alone. We must support all the soldiers; we can’t send them to the war front and not give them the right support. And when I say the right support, I don’t mean only ammunition. All citizens of the country must stand by them.”

He urged more public enlightenment to complement the government’s efforts in addressing insecurity, saying, “We need to do a lot of the national orientation, and I also agree with Mr. President that we must provide that support.”