Islamic cleric Sheikh Abubakar Gumi has restated the importance of dialogue in securing the release of kidnapped victims, attributing the actions of the kidnappers to frustration.
Drawing parallels to the Niger Delta militant activities, Gumi emphasised the need for negotiations to address the underlying security flaws enabling such crimes.
He stressed the innocence of the abducted children and advocated for all efforts to ensure their safe return. Gumi made these remarks during a radio programme on Nigerian Info in Lagos on Monday.
Sheikh Gumi advocates for negotiations in dealing with kidnappings because he believes there’s a fundamental security flaw allowing such crimes to occur easily. He emphasises the innocence of the kidnapped children and suggests doing whatever it takes to secure their release.
“Why i think negotiations are necessary is because, in the first place, how is the kidnapping so easy like that? It is because there is a defect with our security outfit .and we are talking about children who do not know anything nor commit any of these atrocities, ,so we should do anything possible to get them out.”
Recall that President Bola Tinubu has firmly dismissed the notion of paying ransom for the release of over 280 abducted schoolchildren. The president emphasised that no ransom would be paid, reaffirming Nigeria’s stance against ransom payments since they were outlawed in 2022. Reacting during the radio interview , Gumi says that if there are consideration for the Niger Delta militants, ,it is not bad for the federal government to do so with the bandits
“We talk about negotiation with these kidnappers; we are talking about what happened to the Niger Delta Militant, ,who are kidnappers, killing security men, and somehow the government still reached out to them, and they stopped kidnapping. What is good for the goose is good for the gardeners.
Justifying the bandits actions , the Muslim scholar said the militants and the bandits have similar social issues and are marginalised.
“Why i said the comparison is because these two groups are complaining about social things . For them , instead of fighting cattle arsenals ,they joined the bad waggon .If you go to these areas, there is no school ,no water. Nothing is there in these areas , they are marginalised
