Arrest Sheikh Gumi For Alleged Romance With Bandits, Terrorists — Group Tells DSS
A civil society group operating under the Coalition for Peace in Nigeria (COPIN) has requested the Department of State Services (DSS) to immediately detain Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi for allegedly having a relationship with bandits and terrorists.
According to COPIN, Gumi should typically be a person of interest because of his continuous requests for the federal government to pardon the terrorist groups.
In a joint statement released on Wednesday, pharmacist Emeka Akwuobi and Hajiya Fatih Yakub, the group’s National Coordinator and Secretary, respectively, said that Sheikh Gumi had many explanations to share on the actions of bandits, particularly those operating in the North West region.
The group vehemently insisted on the immediate arrest, interrogation and prosecution of the Islamic scholar, while commending the secret service on the professional manner it has handled the arrest of an acclaimed kidnapped Abuja/Kaduna train passengers’ negotiator, Tukur Mamu.
According to the statement, it is more so that Mamu, the bandits’ negotiator, is the undisputed spokesperson for the Kaduna-based influential Islamic cleric.
The group believed that apprehension of Gumi is fundamental to a peaceful election, as he would provide the service with credible/actionable intelligence on the actual locations, and modus operandi of the terrorists, culminating in their arrest.
The group said should the intelligence agency fail to invite Gumi for an interview, it would organise a peaceful protest in Abuja, and other cities in the country.
According to the statement, “We have watched with keen interest the provocative tendencies of Sheikh Gumi, especially as they relate to the activities of bandits/terrorists operating within the North West general area.”
The group noted with concern Gumi’s call for grant of amnesty to terrorists, who have killed and maimed thousands of unarmed civilians, including women and children, lamenting that of particular interest is the kidnap of the Abuja/Kaduna train passengers by the terrorists in April this year, with many of whom still being held under terrible conditions.
Consequently, COPIN demanded the immediate arrest and interrogation of Gumi who it said by now, “should be a person of interest to all intelligence and law enforcement agencies.”
It said it would not hesitate to mobilise for peaceful protests in strategic cities, including Abuja, if the DSS failed to invite the Islamic Cleric for interview on all he knows about bandits/terrorists holding the North West States, and parts of North Central, to ransom.
