Security agents working with bandits, Gumi alleges

 *Insist only negotiation by govt, not use of force, can stop it 

*Asks govs to stop ‘political amnesty’, back it with actions

*Urges Buhari to invite IPOB for negotiations 

*Army dismisses Gumi’s allegation, says troops not colluding with bandits

GREAT Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, claimed yesterday that bandits operating in Nigeria were doing so in connivance with some security agents in the country.

He also described the banditry going on in Nigeria as a tribal war between herders and other tribes in the country, attributing this to the killings in the South West and South East.

Gumi, who spoke in an interview on Arise TV, said: ‘’These bandits are operating with a lot of people in the security system. This is business, otherwise, how can these big weapons they use cross the borders into the country if money is not exchanging hands.’’

Explaining that the banditry in Nigeria was more of tribal war between herders and other tribes, Gumi said it was further compounded by the partiality of the government.  

According to him, government which is supposed to be neutral is taking sides against the bandits, sending security agents after them.

‘’We over-simplify a very complex issue and this breeds confusion. Nigeria is fighting a tribal war and government is supposed to be neutral but it is not. This is what I saw in Zamfara; this is what I saw in Niger.

“When you say these bandits  are committing atrocities, yes, agreed, they are committing crimes – they are killing people, they are kidnapping, they are raping, they are doing all sorts of atrocities. But, have you for once gone to their sides and see all sorts of atrocities that are also committed against them?

“So that rather than wielding the big stick and relying on military action, the Federal Government will do well in restoring normalcy by engaging the bandits in negotiation and using willing volunteers among them to win the battle.

‘’Boko Haram leader, Shekau, had been causing havoc in the country for more than 10 years and the military could not kill him but ISWAP, a splinter group from Boko Haram was able to eliminate him. So is the case with the herdsmen. We can use them to suppress the criminals among them.

“As we all know, at a point, the Boko Haram were ready for dialogue and at a point, they even recommended the current President (Buhari) to negotiate for them. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo even tried to broker peace with Boko Haram.

‘’People should be neutral in this tribal war.  The children of herders who are now bandits are also being killed in different parts of the country.  Look at what happened in Oyo area of the South West where herders and their children were killed.

‘’I don’t speak for bandits committing atrocities; I also don’t speak for those committing atrocities against the bandits, I’m only trying to be neutral.

‘’People do not understand when I say it is ethnic war going on.  You see Fulani fighting Yoruba in the South West, Igbo in the South East and other tribes in the north.  I wonder why government should be taking sides with other tribes against herders. Bandits are ready to stop banditry if the military is ready to cooperate with them,’’ Gumi said.

He described the amnesty granted bandits in some states of the north as mere ‘’political amnesty’’, alleging it was not really backed up with actions in the form of building of schools, hospitals etc for the bandits and their children.

‘’What Masari granted in Katsina initially was a political amnesty, granted in front of the media for the bandits to surrender their guns.  Amnesty should be in the form of providing hospitals, schools and other facilities.

‘’But now, there is relative peace in Katsina because the government now appears to be implementing real amnesty. We can understand why Zamfara cannot implement amnesty for bandits. It is because of financial constraints. We can take examples from the Niger Delta where government even gave militants the job of protecting oil pipelines in the region.

‘’The same can be done for bandits who have promised to guard the forests to enable farmers return to their farms and release hundreds of captives held by them. The bandits are ready to sit down with the government to discuss issues but I don’t know why government is not forthcoming on this,’’ Gumi said.

On why he has not visited Ibarapa in Oyo State, and other parts of the south where there had been frequent killing of farmers by killer herders, the Islamic cleric said he had concluded arrangements to visit the South West this week, adding that the essence of the visit was to talk to the killer herders out of criminality and re-orientate them on how to behave well in their  host communities.

Gumi said he also had plans to visit the South East for the same purpose, disclosing that the peace initiative he started with former President Olusegun Obasanjo was stalled by the death of a Fulani leader who was the intermediary between them and the bandits.

On the release of Tegina pupils kidnapped in Niger State, Gumi said the political atmosphere there was not encouraging peace, adding that the governor’s formation of a vigilante group to go after bandits in the state had further compounded the situation.

He, however, said the bandits agreed to release all their captives in the forest, if the government cooperated with them and release their own colleagues in detention.

He, however, advised the federal government to also invite to the negotiation table the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, to ask them why they had decided to take arms against the state.

“Government doesn’t want to recognize that there are agitations. Even with the IPOB. If I were the government, I will go and sit down with them and ask what the problem is.

“Why are you carrying weapons against your own country? So is the case with the herdsmen. They are ready to negotiate.”

Reacting to Gumi’s allegation yesterday, the Nigerian Army dismissed it in strong terms, saying troops would never collude with bandits and herdsmen perpetrating kidnapping and other atrocities against citizens.

Brig Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, Director Army Public Relations, said in a statement, titled ‘’Nigerian Army not colluding with bandits’’:  “The Nigerian Army wishes to state that contrary to Sheik Gumi’s claims, the NA remains a bonafide symbol of national unity that has conducted its constitutional responsibilities in the most professional manner, in line with global best practices of adherence to the rules of engagement and protection of the fundamental human rights of the citizenry.

‘The sweeping allegation peddled by the scholar is not only sad and unfortunate, but also a calculated attempt to denigrate the military and undermine the sacrifices of our patriotic troops who are working tirelessly to restore peace and stability across the country.

“It is essential to remind ourselves that these same military being accused of connivance, are the ones who recently put their lives on the line to rescue abductees of Government Secondary School, Birnin Yauri, from kidnappers.

“While the NA will not attempt to excuse the possibility of black sheep among its fold, it must be stated unambiguously that it will not condone any form of sabotage or aiding and assisting the enemy by any personnel, as provisions for dealing decisively with such acts are crystallised in Section 45 (1) of the Armed Forces Act CAP A 20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.

“It must also be pointed out, that while the military is very much receptive to constructive criticism, it should not be perceived as a gateway for derogatory comments that have the potential to embolden criminals.

“It is also necessary to reiterate that patriotism must be taken to a trajectory where subversive conversations on the state are brought to the barest minimum.

“Opinion leaders are enjoined to demonstrate patriotism in building the peace, rather than being agents of distabilization, thereby aggravating the current security challenges facing the nation.''

“The NA wishes to reassure law abiding citizens, that troops will continue to conduct themselves professionally in consonance with the code of conduct guiding our operations in all combat engagements, in line with the provisions of the Nigerian constitution and global best practice.

“Citizens are enjoined to continue to support military operations by providing useful information to defence and security agencies and together, we shall rid our society of these criminal elements.”

JAMB releases 2021 UTME results  — Oloyede

JOINT Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, yesterday released results of the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, UTME, which started last Saturday.

JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, who disclosed this at a briefing in Enugu, said he had no reason whatsoever to withhold the results of the UTME.

“The result ought to be out by now, but because I am not at the headquarters and I do not want to approve it while on the field.

“But as soon as I get to Abuja today (yesterday), all the examinations, up to the one being taken today (yesterday), will be approved and released because we have no reason to continue to hold on to it,” he said.

The registrar said his team was in the Southeast to assess what was going on with the conduct of the examinations as well as visit new University in Ebonyi.

He noted that JAMB registered 1,415,501 candidates in the UTME 2021 and 1,122, 095 had taken the examinations so far while 66,111 had yet to take.

According to him, the board has some 650 examination centres across the country, out of which 30 centres have been delisted for performing below standard.

“53 centres are currently under watch, while 600 of them performed excellently. It is our wish and desire that the board will continue to ensure that such non-performing centres with ulterior motive will not be allowed to participate in the exercise,” he said.

Oloyede explained that the use of National Identity Number, NIN, as directed by the federal government helped to reduce malpractice during the examinations.

He said:  “We were talking about the bogus 2.2 million candidates, but it has become clearer that more than 500,000 of such number are fake and duplication.  And we were able to detect this through NIN and now we have realistic number of JAMB candidates.’

The JAMB boss frowned on the activities of some elements to sabotage the exercise, but noted that they were all caught due to the system put in place for the examinations.

He added that those students who visited a particular centre but could not write the examination would be given a new date.

“Apart from registration fee, we did not collect any other money from candidates, but some pay as much as N25,000 to some elements to help them.

“Even some parents were paying N1,000 to somebody who did not finish primary six to help their children, but they will surely pay for it because we will delist them,” he said.

The registrar noted that the security situation in the Southeast was not as bad as the mainstream media and social media projected it.

“I came here myself with four directors and nothing has happened to us.  I want to commend the media for their criticism and support which made the 2021 UTME successful,” Oloyede said. 

COVID-19: Beware of 3rd wave outbreak — Abayomi

....Tells Lagosians...‘go for your 2nd jab' 

LAGOS State Health Commissioner, Prof. Akin Abayomi, yesterday, issued a red alert on the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the state, urging Lagosians that are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination to go for their second jab at the vaccination centres, where they received their first dose.

Professor Abayomi, who spoke after receiving his second jab at Folarin Coker Staff Clinic vaccination site in Alausa, Ikeja,  said the second dose of the vaccine offers full protection against the COVID-19 virus.

His words: “We are encouraging everybody that has had their first dose to come and collect their second dose, so you are fully immunised. One dose is not enough to give you the protection that you need to fight off the virus if you get exposed. So, I have come for my second dose now; I have had it and I am fully immunised.”

He, however, said to mitigate a possible third wave of infections; the State Government had anticipated that such variant would be imported.

He said: “Many countries have been through first, second, third, fourth and even fifth waves, that is the nature of pandemics; you get these waves coming and going as people relax and as variants emerge then they go round again and infect the population.

“In Lagos, we have what is called the Third Wave Prevention Strategy and the most likely source of the virus that is going to cause a third wave in Lagos or Nigeria is going to be imported. So, we have put very tight measures at the airport.

“Anybody coming in from a country where we know there are variants of COVID will get mandatory isolation, a test immediately they arrive and another test on day seven; so we are testing twice now.

“You heard that some people were trying to avoid this new guideline and the Federal Government and Lagos State Government is going to come down very hard on them. They will have their passport suspended, they may be arrested, fined and if not a Nigerian, their work permit and visitors’ visa may be cancelled.

“So, these severe sanctions are for people who are going to try and avoid the new guidelines that have been established by the Federal Government to stop the importation into Nigeria which can trigger the third wave.

“We have picked up some positives and we have isolated them, which means that they cannot spread that virus into the community and that is why we are still enjoying freedom from the third wave but if we relax and we do not become as stringent and watchful as we are now, the third wave may come in.” 

Culled from Vanguard