PANDEF berates Gumi’s position on amnesty for terrorists, criminal herdsmen

The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) has issued a scathing critique of a renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi’s submission that terrorists and criminal herdsmen are militants fighting for ethnic survival, describing the cleric’s position as annoying.

PANDEF registered its displeasure via a statement issued by the National Publicity Secretary of the forum, Mr. Ken Robinson, on Tuesday, February 23.

According to the body, “It is unfortunate that the nation should be hearing one absurd statement or the other from this man every day.

“It is high time that the media stopped giving him attention. He is nothing other than an eccentric bigot dressed in a cleric’s toga. It is vexing that he would have the effrontery to say killer herdsmen and the murderous bandits should not be referred to as criminals but militants fighting an ethnic war and fighting for their existence.

“What nonsense? In a hitherto illustrious country reduced to almost a Lilliputian Republic by a Fulani president.

Read also: PANDEF asks Buhari to take full responsibility for Lekki shooting

“Recall that this same Gumi said the Federal Government is aware of the locations of these bandits terrorising citizens and even went on to blatantly demand amnesty for the bandits.

“Nigeria has never experienced the kind of nepotism and prejudice being perpetrated under the Buhari administration.

“Oil blocks and marginal fields in the Niger Delta have ever been mostly exploited by northerners. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has become a grazing ground for a few.”

Furthermore, PANDEF cautioned the populace to be wary of Gumi’s utterances which seem to give legitimacy to the terrorists’ actions.

The body also bemoaned the indifference of President Muhammadu Buhari to the concerns of well-meaning Nigerians.

The statement added, “In the face of these irking circumstances, a so-called Sheikh Gumi could imagine asserting that killer herders and bandits are fighting for their ethnic survival. It then becomes necessary to reckon that the rest of Nigeria needs to be on the alert.”

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