Prominent Islamic Cleric Ahmad Gumi has fingered Niger Delta Militants for the rising spate of kidnapping in the country, noting that herdsmen learnt the art of abduction from the militants.
Speaking during an interview on Africa Independent Television (AIT) on Tuesday, Gumi said the bandits learnt kidnapping from the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), stressing that if militants could be granted amnesty, then the same should be applicable to the bandits.
Gumi who went on to note that just about 10 percent of Fulani herdsmen are criminals, added that the bandits will assist in flushing out the criminals among them if the government hold talks with them.
According to him, the bandits are themselves victims of cattle rustling who took to crime to defend themselves.
“We didn’t take a different route of trying to solve this problem and that is why we are still here today. And when we say amnesty, we don’t mean that anyone proved to be involved in murder should go free as such,” Gumi said.
“They learnt kidnapping from MEND. I do not see any difference. They were the first victims of rustling. Their cattle is their oil. What we are seeing now is more of an insurgency than banditry. I can say 10 percent of the herders are criminals not 90 percent, in the end, they took up weapons to protect themselves from extinction.
“They themselves can take care of the little remnants of criminals among themselves because they don’t want anybody to bring mayhem to them,” he said.
