“Kidnapping Children Is Better Than Ransacking villages” – Sheik Gumi

Controversial cleric Sheik Gumi has said that the recent spate of kidnapping of school children is a clear sign that banditry is about to end in Nigeria.

Gumi said this in an interview with BBC Pidgin.

“For me, I think say to cari pikin go safely dey beta than to ransack villages dem and kill human beings.”

According to Sheik Gumi the Friday kidnap of Jangebe students was because the state government did not join this particular group of bandits with those they negotiated a peace settlement with.

Sheik Gumi said his visits to Bandits was movement of peace and that he had made it clear to them that attacks on villages and towns was wrong. He believed that this was why they have now opted for kidnapping instead.

He said that the state governments should include more factions of bandits in their peace deal and said that anyone who was against his peace visits to the bandits was a criminal.

Gumi also said that the bandits should not be called criminals because it would hurt their feelings and anger them. He suggested that we instead treat them like Ojukwu and the Niger Delta Militants and call them militants instead.

Gumi said all the bandits wanted was for the government to bring education and development to the North.