AfriPulse
Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has once again defended armed bandits operating in northern Nigeria, insisting that their attacks are acts of revenge rather than unprovoked violence.
Speaking during an interview on Trust TV on Friday, Gumi claimed that the armed groups were driven by grievances and retaliation, not mindless brutality.
According to him, Fulani herdsmen and bandits “do not attack people without any cause.”
“The former governor of Bauchi State, (Isa) Yuguda, was able also to go with a government delegation into the bush and they met more than 5000 bandits. They are all complaining — those who have lost their parents, those who have lost their brothers, those from hostility too,” Gumi said.
While acknowledging that the killings carried out by the bandits were “wrong and obnoxious,” Gumi maintained that the perpetrators were motivated by revenge.
“Yes, I know they have killed, and it’s wrong to kill anybody innocent. This is absolutely an obnoxious thing to do. We don’t support that. But you see, if you know their psychology, they are on a revenge mission,” he added.
Gumi, who has repeatedly called for dialogue and amnesty for the bandits, also claimed that Fulani herdsmen have lived in harmony with other ethnic groups for generations and only began resorting to violence after suffering various injustices.
“Everybody knows the herdsmen, as well as the Fulani herdsmen. They don’t just attack people. We have been living with them for centuries. They don’t attack people without any cause,” he insisted.
The cleric urged President Bola Tinubu’s administration to focus on reconciliation and rehabilitation rather than military operations.
“What I think the government needs to do is to really bring them together in a unison and in a holistic form so that there is peace. They are ready for that, because if you call them for peace, they come,” he said.
Drawing a controversial comparison, Gumi contrasted the bandits with members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), alleging that IPOB rejects dialogue and seeks to break away from Nigeria.
“It’s unlike the others like IPOB. The government has been trying to dialogue with them; they still refuse. They are still behind creating a separate state. They are secessionists. Besides being terrorists, they are secessionists. Well, these people (bandits) are not secessionists. They want peace,” Gumi said.
(SAHARA REPORTERS)
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