Banditry: Why Gummi’s efforts will fail – El-Rufai

Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State has said effort to get the bandits terrorizing the northern part of the country to give up violence would not as succeed as they are used to receiving big money.

El-Rufai, who spoke on a BBC Hausa program, said effort by Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gummi to convince bandits to lay down arms and embrace peace, may be an exercise in futility.

He declared that state government is at war with the bandits.

“My administration is at war with the bandits and so we cannot negotiate. Eliminating them is the only solution to banditry.”

The governor maintained that Sheikh Gummi is wasting his time as there won’t be any forgiveness and compensation for bandits.

“I never believed that a Fulani herdsman who ventured into banditry and is collecting millions of Naira as ransom will repent. I spoke to Dr Gumi who is my friend, I explained that majority of these bandits don’t believe in the religion. That is why they kill mercilessly.

“Anybody who thinks a Fulani herdsman that was used to only getting N100,000 in a year, after selling a cow, but now is getting millions through  kidnapping for ransom will stop, is only wasting his time”.

On the perceived division among the governors on how to tackle the problem, he said: “We the governors, lack unity among ourselves in this region in working as one to neutralize the bandits. We in Kaduna and Niger state are talking on how to end the problem. The governor of Niger state calls  me and we are  discussing. Anybody that thinks a Fulani man that ventured into kidnapping for ransom and he is earning millions of Naira would go back to his former life of getting N100,000 after selling a cow in a year, must be deceiving himself.

“Why should they be compensated after killing people, they destroyed their houses. Who offended them? Ahmad Gummi is my friend and this is what I told him.

“I told him that the majority of these Fulani bandits don’t believe in religion. Therefore, I don’t believe in what he is doing, that they should be forgiven and compensated, if  any ‎bandit is arrested in Kaduna state, the bandit  will be killed because Kaduna is in war with bandits.

“They kill without mercy, they don’t believe in the religion”, he said.