Kidnap of Islamic pupils shows bandits are not targeting a particular religion, they are just looking for money -Gumi

Popular Islamic cleric, Sheik Abubakar Gumi has said that no school in the country is safe until government negotiates with bandits.

The cleric in an interview with Punch, disclosed that there are about 100,000 armed bandits in the North-West alone. He also revealed that these bandits who kidnap students were disappointed that he negotiated with them without the involvement of the Federal Government.

Gumi also maintained that the recent kidnap of pupils from Tegina Islamic School in Niger State, shows bandits are not targeting a particular religion but are just looking for money.

Sharing his thoughts on plan to rescue the Islamic students, Gumi said;

“But we are trying to talk sense to them that these are just innocent schoolchildren. We don’t even have any idea of the condition of the children. We are just saying these are young children trying to study and they did nothing, so why are you trying to take dirty money from their families?

“This (kidnap of Islamic pupils) actually proves to the nation that the bandits are not really indoctrinated, they are just looking for money and I think that this is a good prognosis. They are not targeting a religion; they are not ideologues, which are difficult to deal with. We should not forget that they are not educated, formally or informally. They are just going about with cattle, and suddenly they found a lucrative way of finding money.

“But with good engagement, education and enticements like jobs and other things, they will leave this work. But we need a partner and we need the government to understand. Individuals like me alone cannot do it.

“All those we met (have stopped kidnapping), except for one of them who is kidnapping again, and he told us his reason, that he was neglected and he thought we had the mandate to negotiate. But when he realised that we did not have the mandate from anybody, he said he was going back to his business.

“So, the earlier we go into engaging them, the better. The ones who have agreed to lay down arms, you can engineer them to take care of the rest." he said

Comments

Alleged Lagos deadly cult leader "okoko danger" arrested

The Lagos State Police Command says it has arrested a suspected leader of the Aiye confraternity, a secret cult group in the state, who it identified simply as Shola. The suspect was said to be widely known in cult circles in the Mile 2-Badagry expressway axis as Okoko Danger. The Command announced it also arrested four other suspected members of the dreaded gang, namely Idris Musa, 19; Oluwaseyi Oguntobi, 23; Ramon Adebimpe, 18; and Saheed Kareem, 19. The police alleged that Shola, who they described as “’a deadly and notorious armed robber”, was behind the many killings in the Okokomaiko, Igando, Isheri-Osun and Ikotun areas of the state. The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, told journalists yesterday at the Command Headquarters, Ikeja, that on February 27, 2020 at about 4.20pm, police operatives from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, acting on credible intelligence, stormed a hideout at Iyana-Iba, where Shola and his gang members were said to be hibernating. “Four l...

Lekki Tollgate incident can be equated to a mas*acre — Lagos ENDSARS Panel

The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Ab*ses and Other Matters (Lagos EndSARS Panel) has reported the Lekki Tollgate sh*otings of October 20, 2020, as a mas*acre. The panel indicted soldiers and implicated Nigeria’s security agents in the k*lling and forced disappearances of harmless and unarmed youths protesting at Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020. The Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel made the revelation in a 309-page report submitted to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Monday, November 14. According to the report, nine protesters were confirmed d*ad while four others were presumed d*ad. The report listed 48 names as those who were casualties of the Lekki incident. Among the 48 casualties listed, 24 sustained g*nshot injuries, while 15 others were as*aulted by soldiers and police. “At the Lekki Toll Gate, officers of the Nigerian Army sh*t, injured a...

Femi Otedola appointed Vice President of Save The Children.

Mr Femi Otedola was invited by the Save the Children to join the prestigious group of its Vice Presidents, in recognition for his philanthropic efforts to better the lives of children in Nigeria. Save the Children’s Vice Presidents are a group of high-level supporters and critical friends of the organisation, actively involved in advancing the work of Save the Children, through advocacy, volunteerism, introductions, and philanthropy. Save the Children works in 117 countries around the world in both humanitarian and development settings. The organisation works in partnership with philanthropists, governments, the United Nations, and other NGOs in pursuit of its global mandate to support children and their families in crisis and to ensure children can learn, survive and enjoy a protective environment so that they can reach their full potential in life. Mr. Femi Otedola’s addition to the Vice Presidents group is a testament to his long-standing support to the organization...

Laie.Tv

Search This Blog