Only Negotiation Door With Bandits Is Closed Permanently – Gumi

Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has lamented the inability to negotiate with bandits.

Naija News reports that in a viral video online, Gumi, widely known for visiting and negotiating with bandits in their hideouts, said he and other clergymen can no longer negotiate with bandits.

Gumi faulted the decision of the Nigerian government to declare bandits as terrorists.

He said, “We don’t want to push them into terror beyond what they are doing now because it can get worse.

“They have shown us their willingness to negotiate, so people that are ready to negotiate, why are you rushing to declare them bandits so that you can use whatever weapons you bought.

“Before they used to catch Boko Haram and present them to the authorities in Zamfara, but now they are all terrorists.

“Secondly, the only door that is remaining is for us clergy to go in and negotiate with them, that is closed permanently.”

In other news, Gumi recently dismissed criticisms over his visit to Ibadan, Oyo State, late last year, saying nobody can stop him from visiting any part of Nigeria.

Gumi, in a post on his Facebook page on Tuesday, said his visit to Ibadan had been wrongly linked to what he described as “dirty local politics” in the South-West.

The cleric had come under criticism in some quarters following allegations that his visit was part of an attempt to promote northern Islamic ideologies and Islamise Oyo State.

Reacting to the controversy, Gumi said he was not invited to Ibadan by any Muslim individual or group in the South-West.

He explained that he attended the event as a representative of northern Islamic scholars.