Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Gumi has made an earnest appeal to the federal government, urging them to authorize him to engage in dialogue with bandits as a means of securing the release of Nigerians abducted by these criminal elements.
Gumi, a renowned figure in Islamic circles, implored President Bola Tinubu not to follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, who adopted a firm stance against negotiating with bandits.
Expressing his readiness to mediate comprehensive discussions between the government and bandits, Sheik Gumi condemned the Kaduna State government’s refusal to negotiate with the bandits responsible for the recent abduction of 287 school children from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in Chikun local government area.
He referenced previous successful negotiations, particularly citing the case of the Abuja-Kaduna train kidnapping in March 2022, where dialogue played a pivotal role in securing the release of hostages.
“The government’s stand of no negotiation with the bandits is an unfortunate position. My advice is that the government should dialogue with the bandits not only for these Kuriga school children abductions but all the cases,” Sheik Gumi stated.
He continued, “Also, the government should use the same approach it used in releasing passengers that were abducted on Abuja – Kaduna train in 2022 to release the Kuriga school children and others.”
Asserting his readiness to spearhead a holistic dialogue between the government and bandits, Gumi emphasized that it is his religious duty to pursue peace through dialogue.
“I am ready to lead a holistic dialogue between the government and bandits. It is a religious duty for me to do so for peace. I hope the present government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will listen by dialoguing with the bandits because the past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to do,” he added.
