Negotiating With Bandits Is A Waste Of Time – El-Rufai

Nasir El-rufai
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has said having negotiations with bandits and perpetrators of insecurity and killings is nothing but a waste of time.
This, he said, as his reaction to the efforts made by a prominent northern-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Gumi, wooing the gunmen to lay down their arms and embrace peace.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Hausa, El-Rufai said the bandits are used to getting big money as ransom and will therefore find it difficult to repent after all. He then insisted that his administration will never negotiate with them.
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“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 the majority of these bandits don’t believe in 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:, he said.Governor El-Rufai
Lamenting how the Governors in the Northern region are not united in combatting the bandits, El-Rufai said, “we the governors lack unity among ourselves in this region in working as one to neutralise the bandits. We in Kaduna and Niger state are talking on how to end the problem. The governor of Niger State called me and we are discussing. Anybody that thinks a Fulani man that ventured into kidnapping for ransom and he is earning millions of Naira will go back to his former life of getting N100,000 after selling a cow in a year, must be deceiving himself.”
Meanwhile, Zamfara Governor To Receive ‘Repentant’ Bandits
“Why should they be compensated after killing people? They destroyed their houses. Who offended them? Ahmad Gumi 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”, he added.21 Dead As Bandits Attack Zamfara, KatsinaPhotos Credit: Getty

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