Gumi Opens Up On Allegation That He Benefits From Ransom Given To Bandits
Controversial Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, denied allegations that he benefits off banditry revenues on Friday.
Gumi said the accusation against him “unfair” because he would never do such a thing.
The controversial priest told DAILY POST that his devotion to the government, security agencies, and the nation should not be questioned.
Gumi is rumored to have connections with some of the country’s outlaws who are wreaking havoc in the north.
In the North, bandits have made education a major challenge, with schools beginning to collapse as a result of their operations.
The cleric once requested that the Federal Government provide amnesty to bandits in the same way that it did to insurgents in the Niger Delta.
Gumi had claimed a few days ago, while trying to speak for them, that bandits only kidnap students for money, whereas the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, assassinate security officers in the Southeast.
His stance had led to the assumption that he benefited from the ransoms paid to the bandits.
Gumi said that as a medical doctor who served in the military, he will never be able to benefit from such funds.
He claims that because Islam forbids people from dealing in “dirty money,” we cannot contradict His teachings.
He said: “As an Islamic cleric who doesn’t drink alcohol, doesn’t gamble, and preventing people from getting dirty money from corruption, prostitution, it would be unbecoming of me to take money from the proceed of this crime. Whoever thinks about that is not being fair.
“Secondly, as a medical doctor who is a healer, how can I contemplate benefitting from dirty money where people lost their lives? It doesn’t sound right.
“After sacrificing myself for the nation and serving in the Army, I don’t think anybody should doubt my allegiance to the state, government, security, and the nation.”
