A retired major general, Ishola Williams, has lambasted popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi for demanding amnesty for bandits.
Williams stated this in an interview with Sunday Punch.
Shortly after meeting bandits in Niger State in the wake of the Kagara abduction in February, Sheikh Gumi said, “I appeal to the government and recommend that government should do to them exactly what they did to the Niger delta militants and give them a blanket amnesty. Then if anybody will continue we will deal with him.”
However, Williams, who is a former Chairman of Transparency International Nigeria, said it was “nonsense” for the cleric to demand amnesty for criminals that continue to leave a trail of destruction in their wake.
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Williams said, “This is the first time in my life that I am learning you can negotiate with bandits. Someone has robbed you and you are telling another person to go and appeal to the robber that robbed you.
“The robber is complaining that he is not being taken care of, but what is the commission that is supposed to take care of him doing? Instead of the mediator asking the commission questions, he is asking that another commission be created. Is that a mediator?
“Sheikh Gumi also said Christian soldiers were the ones attacking Muslim communities to create chaos. Is he solving any problems or creating new ones? In a country that is so sensitive about religion, is that a mediator? He also said bandits should not be called criminals. He is also canvassing amnesty for people going out to kill others and kidnap schoolchildren. What sort of nonsense is that? Is he saying that northern youths who go to other parts of the country selling foodstuffs and doing menial jobs are stupid? See how the bandits shot a schoolboy in Niger State during a recent kidnapping because he attempted to run away from them. I am happy, though, that the President has said he’s not giving any amnesty to the bandits. Sheikh Gumi is not serious. He is not a good mediator and they should drop him. There are more mature and true Islamic clerics who can do a better mediating job than what Sheikh Gumi is doing.