“Schoolchildren kidnap is lesser evil to attacking a town” – Sheik Gumi

Popular Islamic cleric and scholar, Ahmad Gumi, has has stated that kidnapping children from school is a lesser evil to ransacking a town and killing its residents.

The cleric has continued his call for amnesty to be granted to bandits spearheading violent attacks in the Northern region of the country.

Gumi who reacted to the recent abduction of students from a school in Zamfara state in an interview on BBC pidgin, said the recent abduction was carried out because some bandits felt they were left out of peace talks initiated by the state government.

The Islamic cleric averred in the interview that the recent attack shows that his preaching is working and might bring an end to banditry in northern states. Gumi added that bandits are now careful with their victims, unlike before when they had no respect for human lives