Popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has expressed that the designation of bandits as terrorists by the federal government “will not end their aggression against the society”.
A federal high court in Abuja had, on Thursday, declared the activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda bandit groups as acts of terrorism.
Reacting to the proscription, Gumi stated that the federal government “has succumbed to media blackmail” with the declaration, adding that “it will not have any practical value”.
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The cleric aired his views in a statement released on Friday by Tukur Mamu, his spokesperson.
He added that the proscription might embolden “profiling of herdsmen in general as terrorists” and people “taking laws into their hands against them”.
