IPOB: Gumi Speaks On Comparison Of Pro-Biafra Group, Bandits

Controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, says the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) kills security agents, but herdsmen only kidnap children for money, hence people should be ‘fair’ when comparing.

Gumi, who many accuse of abetting bandits, said herdsmen’s crimes weigh significantly less than those of IPOB, a controversial group founded by diaspora-based Nnamdi Kanu, which is canvassing for the secession of Eastern Nigeria.

Speaking on Arise TV on Wednesday, Gumi called for “fairness” in the comparison between the two groups, saying one “is killing our gallant men” while the other is “kidnapping children to make money and not to kill them”.

“IPOB is attacking the police, the army, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other government institutions; killing our men in service,” he said.

“And the herdsmen are kidnapping children not to kill them but to get money; so how can you compare somebody who is killing our gallant men directly to somebody who is kidnapping children to make money and not to kill them.

“Look, we need some fairness in what we are doing.”

AllNews had earlier reported that as Nigeria continue to contend with banditry activities in the north, Amaka Ekwo, the former IPOB New Media and Special Duties Coordinator branded Gumi ‘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 had in a 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.”

Incidences of violent separatist activities and banditry in Nigeria have been rife lately.