Ahmad Gumi, a contentious Islamic scholar, has revealed that security personnel are aware of the hideouts of bandits.
Gumi stated that the security agents who joined him in negotiations were familiar with the locations of the bandits in the Northern region of the country.
Speaking with Nigeria Info FM, on security agencies not knowing the hideout of bandits, the cleric said: “I don’t think they (security agents) are truthful with you. When I go, I go with them; I don’t go alone.”
Gumi revealed that the bandits are primarily herdsmen, predominantly Nigerian with a minority of foreigners.
Emphasizing the importance of negotiation, particularly in the context of the recent abduction of around 287 students from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the cleric suggested that through negotiation, the captives could be safely returned without the need for financial exchanges, suggesting the possibility of exchanging prisoners instead.
Gumi depicted the bandits as marginalized individuals lacking access to fundamental social amenities such as education, infrastructure, and water.