Salihu Lukman, director-general of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF), has berated the controversial Islamic cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi over his opposition against declaring bandits as terorrists.
Gumi, had recently said there will be severe consequences if the government declares bandits as terrorists.
But in a statement on Thursday, Lukman condemned the cleric’s position, describing it as “irresponsible”
He said: “Interestingly, apologists and self-appointed counsels to the bandits, such as Sheikh Ahmed Gumi are becoming more confident, and are irresponsibly mobilising opposition against declaring bandits terrorists,”
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“All the studies about insecurity have confirmed that the bandits operating in the north-west and north-central have all the characteristics of terrorist groups.
“For instance, a study by Dr. Murtala Ahmed Rufa’i, presented at the 15th Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto Seminar Series, on Thursday, September 9, 2021, titled, ‘I am a Bandit – A Decade of Research in Zamfara State Bandit’s Den’, reported that bandits are armed groups with ‘contacts across the Sahel, particularly Libya and Mali’, having ‘huge capital’, ‘in possession of more than 500 AK 47 guns’, and ‘own sophisticated weapons like RPGS and Anti-Aircraft.’ The report indicated that ‘there are over 60,000 weapons in circulation’ in the north-west alone.”
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