Security Agents Are Aware Of Bandits’ Hideouts; They Accompany Me For Negotiations – Gumi

A Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has made startling revelations during an interview on Nigeria Info FM, asserting that security forces possess knowledge of bandits’ hideouts in Nigeria’s northern regions.

Gumi, recognized for his controversial perspectives, revealed that security personnel have accompanied him on missions to negotiate with these bandits, indicating a detailed understanding of their operational bases and whereabouts.

In the interview, Gumi underscored the importance of negotiation in addressing the recent abduction of approximately 287 students from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

He suggested that negotiation could facilitate the safe release of the captives without necessarily resorting to financial transactions, hinting at the possibility of prisoner exchanges.

Portraying the bandits as marginalized individuals deprived of essential social services such as education, infrastructure, and water, Gumi implied that their criminal activities stemmed from these unmet needs.

He advocated for a government amnesty programme similar to the one implemented in the Niger Delta region, aimed at mitigating the escalating insecurity in the North.

Gumi remarked, “I don’t think they (security agents) are truthful with you. When I go, I go with them; I don’t go alone.”

Regarding the identity of the bandits, Gumi stated that they primarily consist of herdsmen, predominantly Nigerians with a minority of foreigners.