Declaring bandits as terr*rists won’t change anything — Cleric Gumi

Declaring bandits as terrorists is just a decision taken for political expediency, renowned Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has said.

In a statement issued by Malam Tukur Mamu, the Dan-Iyan Fika and Media Consultant to Sheikh Gumi, the Muslim scholar said: “I think the Federal Government has succumbed to media blackm*il by a section of the country. It will not have any practical value because even before the declaration they are being fought and treated as terr*rists.

So it’s just a nomenclature which I believe will not change the dynamics on ground. If you can remember, IPOB was also declared a terr*rist organisation. The declaration was even backed by the order of the Court, but as you can see even the international community did not recognise FG’s declaration on IPOB.

So it has failed to be effective or to achieve the desired results. They have not been banned from travelling to other countries, while their citizenship remains intact; it has not been denounced. So what type of declaration is that?.

I sincerely hope that Nigerians will not take the herdsmen as terrorists, but should regard the criminality of the few among them against innocent people as acts of terr*rism just as we see IPOB and their att*cks on security agencies and other northern citizens as acts of terr*rism. Very few herdsmen are bandits if you go through their population.”