The Senator representing Niger East Senatorial district in the National Assembly, Mohammed Musa, says it is a disservice to Nigerians that Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has not been invited and grilled by security and intelligence agencies concerning his relationship with bandits terrorising parts of Northern Nigeria.
Senator Musa asserted while speaking as a guest on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday night that Sheikh Gumi has been hobnobbing with the bandits long enough to provide security agencies with information necessary to neutralise their range and operations.
According to the Senator, “I won’t say we know them (bandits). Just as we said, they have cells and they have a kind of leadership structure in their cells. I would recall that one of the renowned Islamic scholars, Sheikh Gumi, was at a time going into the forests to meet with these people.
“I think somebody like Gumi should be asked how he has contacts to reach these people. And if he can reach these people, why is it that he has not been able to help the government to get these people neutralised?”
The Senator also said he completely agrees with his colleagues in their call on the Federal Government to declare and code the bandits as terrorists.
He remarked that the Federal Government needs to be more intentional and proactive in the way the war against insurgency is handled since the whole matter seems to have defied logical solutions, especially in Niger and neighbouring States.
“It seems they all went back to Zamfara, which seems to be the epicentre of it. So, when they all went back to Zamfara, and the government decided to hit them in Zamfara, they’re now spreading. We had some peace in the last two months, but now, they’re back and they’re very ruthless. So, we also want the government to be very ruthless with them”, the Senator said.
