Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, says he has stopped mediating for armed bandits in the country following their declaration as terrorists by the court.
Gumi made this known in an interview on Wednesday in Kaduna State.
Recall that the cleric had visited bandits in the forests in Zamfara and Niger states, taken medical services to them and has been asking the federal government to grant them a general amnesty.
Before Gumi started his campaign in favour of bandits, the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, and his counterpart in Katsina, Aminu Masari, had engaged bandits in their state in dialogue.
But after the approach failed to end the menace, the governors endorsed military actions against the bandits.
Nasir El-Rufai, the Kaduna State Governor and his Niger State counterpart, Abubakar Sani, have constantly refused dialogue with the terrorists.
Gumi said his efforts in that campaign were for the sake of peace and economic prosperity of Nigeria, but lamented that the efforts have been crippled.
Also the Federal High Court in Abuja had declared the activities of bandits’ groups as acts of terrorism.
The verdict strengthened the call on the federal government to declare bandits ravaging the North-western and the North-central regions as terrorists.
With the declaration of the bandits as terrorists, Gumi, speaking on Wednesday, said it would be risky for him to further engage the bandits.
He said “since the federal government has declared them terrorists, I don’t have anything to do with them anymore.
“I will not like to expose myself to danger again and to put a spotlight on myself unnecessarily,”
“I have tried all I could do to admonish the nation on the best way to do it, but it seems my advice has fell (fallen) on deaf ears.”
He added that going forward, he would be a “spectator in the crisis”.
Gumi said, “I have endangered my life for peace by going to the forest and engaged the bandits. Among them there are rock bandits, they are dangerous, armed ready to fire.
“It is dangerous, still we risked our lives to see that we bring peace to this nation. Because somebody has to take that risk and we took it and thanked God we came out safely and knowledgeable, knowing how to come about this issue.
“Maybe in the future when the political situation changes for better, we can do it again so that there will be peace, harmony and tranquility in the country.”
