Like Niger Delta militant, FG must initiate welfare programme for bandits – Gumi

• This is even as he said resorting to force and highhandedness in tackling banditry and kidnappings will only aggravate the matter.

Controversial Islamic cleric, Ahmed Gumi, has implored the Federal Government to treats bandits wreaking havoc in many parts of the country respectfully like they did Niger Delta militants.

This is even as he said resorting to force and highhandedness in tackling banditry and kidnappings will only aggravate the matter.

Speaking during an interview on Arise news, he said government should design a programme like the amnesty initiative for the Niger Delta militants.

He said the use of military force and bombardment of the criminals would only toughen them and make them lose empathy.

‘You need a programme just like the Niger Delta, a programme which will bring them out of their forests, educating then, giving them healthcare, giving them peaceful life. This is how you entice people to abandon violence and militancy. But when you continue dropping bombs, they will find no sympathy and empathy for our children. This is it. An eye for an eye. This is what is happening. So, we have to change our tactics, we have to change our styles.

“The government, everybody knows their leader. In fact, there is a book, ‘I am a bandit by one Murtala, an Academic. He listed more than 160 bandit leaders. We know their leaders by their names but you don’t know their foot soldiers. You don’t know all of them. So, you just know their leaders. If you don’t know their foot soldiers, how can you be fighting? They can just come into the town as civilians and then go out”.