Banditry: Masari disagrees with Gumi

Katsina State Governor Aminu Bello Masari on Wednesday faulted the recommendations of controversial Islamic scholar Sheik Ahmad Abubakar Gumi on how to resolve banditry.

He spoke on Politics Today, a Channels programme monitored by The Nation.

He said: “My option is simple. The bandits are harassing, killing, abducting, maiming and raping the communities they live with.

“Let them stop it, let them stop attacking the villagers, let them stop cattle rustling… then there won’t be SOS to the police, military or the vigilantes/volunteers… it is when bandits attack, then an alarm is raised, let them stop.”

Masari ruled out the possibility of dialoguing with bandits.

“If a bandit brings all his guns, brings all his guns ammunitions, and come out of his forest, because you can’t bring some guns and keep others in the forest … No … we have done it before, it did not work, they (bandits) are not sincere.”

While reacting to the allegations made by Gumi on Governors not keeping to agreements in resolving the issue of banditry, he said: “What does Gumi know about what we did in Katsina? I challenge Gumi to come and tell us what we did in Katsina.

“It is the same story he is being told. What does Gumi know about the forests? Is he legitimising killings? They (bandits) need moral and spiritual education to know the value of life and stop killing people…”

“I don’t support Gumi’s intervention because he is not doing it rightly… I expect him first to preach rightly to them on the implication of killing innocent people, the implications of abducting, stealing and kidnapping people… and they should know the consequences…that’s what I expect a clergyman first and foremost to do.”