Controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has reminded the government of the times he warned against using force to tackle bandits and terrorists but no one listened to him.
The Kaduna-based Muslim scholar who was reacting to Sunday’s incident where a notorious bandit kingpin, Bello Turji celebrated the seizure of a Mine Resistant Armour Personnels (MRAPs) belonging to the Nigerian Army, said bandits terrorizing the nation believe they are serving a higher cause by engaging in criminal activities.
Gumi who made the assertion in a Facebook post, noted that using extreme force by security agencies to battle the bandits have become counter productive.
A video of the bandits celebrating after setting the MRAPs on fire has gone viral on social media, sparking widespread concern.
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In his post titled “Radicalisation of Bandits: I warned against the danger,” Gumi stated that the bandits initially engaged in what he described as an “ethnic war” that could have been resolved if approached differently. He expressed regret that his warnings against intensifying the military’s kinetic approach to dealing with the bandits were ignored.
“Initially, bandits were fighting an ethnic war that could easily be resolved. I warned if the kinetic approach is intensified they will turn into ideologically motivated guerilla warfare. Nobody listened.”
He went on to layout the difference between Boko Haram and bandits.
“The difference between the former and the latter is that ideological war is mostly intractable, BH (Boko Haram) as an example. They commit the same crime but this time they think they are serving God. The picture is gloomy,” he added.
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