Dialogue With Bandits: Media Watch  Condemns Ex – Zamfara Gov,Yerima,  Sheik  Gumi ,  Urges Tinubu To Ignore Them 

By our staff reporter

Senator Ahmed Sani – Former Governor of Zamfara State and Sheikh Ahmed Gumi of Kaduna State have been condemned for advocating for negotiation with bandits and insurgents.

They have also been admonished to jettison their thoughts and views that if bandits are negotiated with, peace would return to troubled zones of the Country where they hold sway.

The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria, made this declaration in a Press Statement signed by its National Coordinator Alh. Abdullahi Ibrahim.

The Group berated the two Eminent Personalities and wondered why they compared insurgents and bandits with former Niger Delta militants.

According to the Group, while insurgents are destroyers of innocent human lives and property, armed bandits are money-mongers who took kidnapping of innocent people such as men, women and children for ransome as business; and even go further to kill their victims sometimes after collecting ransome from their relations!

The Group said ‘How can you then compare these hardened criminals with militants of Niger Delta some who are fighting for legitimate right of recognition for job

opprtunities in their oil-producing areas and skills acquisition for the youths so as to be useful to thenselves and the Society.

Alh. Ibrahim the Leader of the Media Group who is a Human Resources’ Management Expert and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) in the Press Statement stated categorically that, anyone calling for dialogue with criminals and granting of amnesty to bandits are ‘on their own’ as the Nigerian Muslims all over the Country who have largest share of their iniquities are not in support of such calls, stating further that such a step by any Government was capable of promoting youth restiveness and encouraging acts of criminalities.

On the controversial amnesty granted to some boko-haram members by the Immediate-Past Administration, the Group said all the beneficiaries came on their own to surrender their arms and amnunitions and went further to lead the soldiers and other Security Agencies to the abodes of other members of boko-haram who also surrendered adding that most of them have been rehabilitated and trained to be good citizens with acquired skills. Even then Group said, ‘they are still under the watchful eyes’ of the top Security Agents!

The Media Group therefore called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ignore Sen. Ahmed Sani and Sheikh Ahmed Gumi as their calls were nonsensical and unacceptable!

They called on the President to task the newly-appointed Security Chiefs to ‘tighten their belts very well’ and come-up with their road-map to defeat the enemies of the Nation ravaging our Comnunities with their heinous crimes, adding that there would be need for the President to give the Security Agencies time-frame within which they should end insecurity in Nigeria after mobilising them adequately and monitoring them on the judicious use of allocations given to them.

‘The battle against insecurity should be taken to ‘dens’ of the insurgents and bandits in all States where they operate to put end to their criminal activities, the Group urged; stating further that our Security Forces should be proactive and not reactive as this would eventually silence the criminal.

The Media Group commended Broadcast Media Organizations in Nigeria on sensitization of the masses in local languages frequently on ‘saying something when they observe something’ but said the media enlightenment is not enough, adding that need to do more calling Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON) to mobilise its Organizational Members to begin the ‘crusade’ now!

MMWG mentioned further the States

where inspite of all efforts armed banditry, kidnapping and insurgency are still ravaging. They include some States in the South East, Niger, Borno, Zamfara, Sokoto, Plateau, Nassarawa, Benue, Kogi, Kaduna, Kebbi and some parts of Kwara States as well as Abuja FCT according to Media Reports, the Group said.

It called for guiding against bandwagon effects whereby when fighting the bandits, they move to neighbouring States to wreck further havoc; adding that insecurity must be fought holistically for our economic and social development to be guaranteed.

The Group finally emphasised the need for fervent prayers for the new Administration of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to surmount all the problems facing the Country, pointing out that we need prayers and spiritual devotion to succeed adding that patriotic Nigerians must not relent on prayers at all times for this Administration.