Buhari’s Shoot-On-Sight Order Hindering Negotiation With Bandits – Sheik Gumi

Popular Fulani Islamic Cleric, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, has questioned the Federal Governments’ shoot-on-sight order by the President. President Muhammadu Buhari has earlier this month ordered the military to shoot-on-sight anybody found with an AK-47 in the bushes. Sheik Gumi has said the order is hindering the efforts to negotiate the release of the recently kidnapped students of the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, Kaduna. 

The FCFM students were abducted two weeks ago by some suspected bandits who invaded the school premises in Kaduna, Gov El-Rufai who over the years consistently stated that his government will never negotiate with bandits and any other criminals.
READ ALSO: Killings By Bandits And Herdsmen Are Mostly Accidental – Sheik Gumi

The Islamic cleric, Sheik Gumi who over the few months had acted as an interface and negotiator with bandits in recent times said some of the bandits he had previously met with and discuss with during his peace meetings had assisted in helping him identify the leader of the gang responsible for the FCFM students abduction of the students but that he had been unable to reach out to him because of the shoot-on-sight order of the president.

“If we had encouragement, we would have met all the leaders. All those we met usually offered to support us to negotiate on our behalf, just like what happened in Niger State.

Presently, our ability has reached the extent that we can identify who is involved in any criminal act. We have identified the leader of those who took the students but he has never attended any peace meeting with us.

Those groups we met identified him but we could not reach out to him because of the security implication since the government gave shoot-on-sight order and then the government said no negotiation. So, I don’t want us to go into the bush and the government will think we are encouraging them.”he told DailyTrust

Speaking on what needs to be done to rescue the abducted students, Sheik Gumi said

“What I think is for the government to just relax and allow us to follow these people to teach them how to behave, admonish them and then negotiate so that they stop this thing. We are doing this for ourselves not for the government or any political party.

We don’t want politicians to mess up our land because they will come and go while we remain here, God willing. So we are not doing it for political reasons, we are doing it for ourselves so that we stop killing each other.”

Watch our trending video of the day;

Photo Credit: Getty