Kaduna, Zamfara Governors Also Dialogued With Bandits — Sheikh Gumi

Kaduna-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has described as clowns those urging the Federal Government to order his arrest over holding a meeting with bandits to settled the issue of abduction of school children in Niger State. 

Gumi who made this statement while speaking to Daily Post in an interview revealed that government officials also attend the meetings with the bandits.

He, however, stated that this is not the first time he will be holding such a dialogue meeting with bandits. 

According to him, he said, “Even the Kaduna State governor dialogued with them, Zamfara governor dialogued with them.

“I’m not the first person that started dialoguing with them (bandits). I only added value, and I find them to be religious; religion is the only thing that teaches you that blood has sanctity. So this is the religious angle.

I’m trying to gather them and teach them that there is a sanctity to life. They cannot kill, rape and so on. This is the addition I hope will work. Note, I never visited these bandits without a government official, but they are in the background.

READ ALSO: Gumi Is Constitutionally Entitled To Talk With Bandits -NSA

“All the bandits we met were with government officials, and that is why I said those calling for my arrest are clowns.”

He added that his dialogue with the bandits has started yielding positive results.

“My interaction with bandits has yielded instant results. When you are dealing with somebody engrossed in criminality, if you approach him as a policeman, you will have a problem but if you come to him as a pastor, he will confess all his sins to you.

“So we approach them as clergy, and they feel comfortable to vomit all their problems. Hence, we see how we can appease and help them.

“We are not approaching them as an authority but from the spiritual angle. You know every human being has that spiritual influence, and that is why we are adopting that,” he added.