El-Rufai to Gumi: We can’t negotiate with bandits

Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has said that his administration is at war with bandits and so cannot negotiate with them.

The governor also ruled out the issue of forgiveness and compensation for bandits being advocated by the state based Islamic Scholar, Dr Ahmad Gumi.

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El-Rufai said eliminating the bandits is the only solution to banditry in the region .

Daily Trust reported recently how Dr Gumi visited communities within Kaduna facing insecurity in the state as well as Zamfara State to meet with bandits.

According to El-Rufai, he never believed that a Fulani herdsman who ventured into banditry and collecting millions of naira as ransom will repent.

The governor disclosed this in an interview with BBC Hausa radio as monitored on Monday.

He said he spoke with the Islamic Scholar Dr Gumi who he described as his friend that majority of these bandits don’t believed in religion which is why they killed without mercy.

‎According to him, anybody that thinks a Fulani herdsman that was used to only getting N100,000 in a year after selling a cow, but now getting millions from kidnapping for ransom will stop is only wasting his time.

El-Rufai also said there was division among the north west governors on the way to end banditry in the region.

He said some of the governors see dialogue with the bandits ‎as a solution while others didn’t .

“We lack unity among ourselves (governors) in this region to work together to eliminate these bandits. We in Kaduna and Niger state are still communicating‎ on how to end this problem. The Niger governor use to call me and we discuss.

“Anybody that thinks a Fulani man that ventured into kidnapping for ransom and he is earning millions of naira would go back to his former life of getting N100,000 after selling a cow in a year must be deceiving himself.

“Why should they be compensated after killing people, destroyed their houses. Who offended them?. Ahmad Gumi is my friend and this is what we discussed with him.

“I told him that the majority of these Fulani bandits don’t believe in religion. Therefore, I don’t believe in what he (Gumi)is doing that they should be forgiven and compensated” he, said.

The governor further added that any ‎bandit arrested in the state will be killed because the state is in war with bandits.

Effort to speak with Dr Gumi over the governor’s comment proved abortive as his phone was switched off.