By Sabiu Abdullahi
Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has raised concerns that bandits are now abducting and killing Nigerians, believing they are serving God.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Gumi reacted to the recent seizure of Mines Resistant Armour personnel (MRAPs) by bandits, led by notorious kingpin Bello Turji.
Gumi stated that the bandits were initially fighting an “ethnic war that could easily be resolved” but warned against intensifying the kinetic approach, which he believes has led to their radicalization.
“I warned if the kinetic approach is intensified they will turn into ideologically motivated guerrilla warfare. Nobody listened,” he said.
The cleric noted that the bandits now commit the same crimes, but with a twisted belief that they are serving God. “The picture is gloomy,” Gumi concluded. His warning comes as a video from 2023 resurfaced, showing bandits jubilating after setting the seized MRAPs on fire.