Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has alleged that security agencies were aware of hideouts of bandits operating in the Northern part of Nigeria.
Speaking during an interview with Nigeria Info FM on Tuesday, Sheikh Gumi stated that security agents who accompanied him during some of his peace advocacy visits to the bandits in the forests few years ago knew the whereabouts of the criminal elements.
“I don’t think they (security agents) are truthful with you. When I go, I go with them; I didn’t go alone,” Sheikh Gumi asserted, challenging the assertion that security agencies were unaware of the bandits’ locations.
Addressing the identities of the bandits, Gumi described them as primarily Nigerian herdsmen, with only a few foreigners among them. He, however, emphasised the need for negotiation in resolving the recent abduction of approximately 287 students from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Gumi proposed negotiation as a means to secure the safe return of the captives, suggesting that it could be achieved without resorting to financial transactions. He hinted at the possibility of prisoner swaps as a potential avenue for securing the release of the abducted schoolchildren.
Furthermore, Gumi claimed that the bandits were marginalised individuals who have been deprived of basic social services, including education, infrastructure, and water.
The cleric’s portrayal aligns with his previous statements highlighting the socioeconomic factors contributing to the proliferation of banditry in the North.
