'Gumi Is Buhari Administration Head Of Banditry'

As Nigeria continue to contend with banditry activities in the north, Amaka Ekwo, the former outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB's) New Media and Special Duties Coordinator has branded controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi as 'the head of banditry in the Muhammadu Buhari administration'.

Ekwo, who used to be the Press Secretary to diaspora-based IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, via her known Twitter handle on Tuesday was reacting to Gumi's recent interview with Punch where the religious leader asked the FG to engage bandits in order to guarantee security in schools.

Since December 2020, at least six kidnappings of schoolchildren have occurred in the north-west and north-central parts of the country, with not less than 700 students and staff abducted.

The latest abduction occurred last Thursday when bandits attacked Federal Government College, Birnin-Yauri in Kebbi state and abducted many students and staff.

The abductions have resulted in the suspension of boarding schools and the deployment of security operatives to schools in some Nigerian states.

Gumi in the Punch interview insisted that aerial bombardments of bandits will only worsen the security situation, arguing that they are also “victims”.

“To secure schools, why not engage the bandits. Engage them; they are not many. You can count them with your fingers. How can you guard schools? It is not possible. In the whole north-west, they may not be more than 100,000 bandits. And that is just a drop in the ocean,” he had said.

“That is talking about those with weapons; because not all of them have weapons. Ninety per cent of those who have weapons use them to protect themselves against cattle rustlers.

“They are victims too. Aerial bombardments will only worsen the situation because when you start killing their children, you remember they also have our children.”

But Ekwo is not pleased with these statements coming from Gumi.

"Hello everyone, meet Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, the @MBuhari administration Head of Banditry," she wrote.

Incidences of bandits' activities in Nigeria have been rife lately.