A famous rights group, Rising-Up for a United Nigeria (RUN), has urged security agencies including the Department of State Security (DSS) to immediately profile and arrest Sheikh Abubakar Gumi for ties with terrorists.
Gumi, a Kaduna based cleric has been vocal in his support for bandits, terrorists and has unapologetically offered to negotiate with them while vehemently rejecting the notion that they are criminals but victims of the Nigerian state.
In a tersely worded press release signed and made available to journalists in Abuja weekend by Amb. Solomon Adodo and Mallam Suleiman Musa, the convener and secretary of RUN respectively, warned that not arresting Gumi will send a wrong signal to Nigerians who have been devastated by the activities of bandits and terrorists for more than a decade.
The release said: “It is curious that Sheikh Gumi only becomes vocal when bandits strike and kidnap scores of law abiding, innocent Nigerians. There is no gainsaying that the Sheikh has direct links with these criminals and equally benefits from the ransom money collected.
“His renewed boldness following the kidnap of over 280 school children from Kuriga village in Chikun local government area of Kaduna state has given him out as a terrorist coordinator and mobiliser. Gumi must know that this is a new administration and he cannot continue to indulge in criminality without repercussions.”
The group disparaged remarks attributed to Gumi that the Niger Delta region is calm because “agitators from the region have been given the job of securing pipelines and a similar deal should be struck with bandits in the north, describing it as a declaration of war on the Nigerian state by Gumi and his criminal gangs. The DSS should therefore immediately arrest Gumi before he leads an assault on the Presidential Villa.”
