Sheikh Gumi's older brother abducted by bandits in Zamfara who want him to pay huge ransom

CONTROVERSIAL Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has revealed that his elder brother  has been kidnapped by bandits  in Zamfara State who are now demanding a hefty ransom fee for his release.

Highly divisive and seen as one of the subtle backers behind Fulani herdsmen who have unleashed a reign of terror on Nigeria, Sheikh Gumi is also said to be one of the main backers of armed bandits involved in widespread kidnapping across northwest Nigeria. Earlier this year, Sheikh Gumi travelled to Zamfara State to meet with the bandits, where he negotiated an amnesty programme with them.

Sheikh Gumi has repeatedly said that these bandits should not be prosecuted despite them unleashing terror on the country, adding that for peace to reign, they must be pardoned under an amnesty programme. Last month, the controversial cleric was in the news again after he announced the establishment of a special school in Kaduna forests to train herdsmen.

However, in a classic case of the chickens coming home to roost, Sheikh Gumi's brother has been abducted by bandits, who are demanding a huge fee for his release. Speaking in Gusau, Sheikh Gumi said his brother was kidnapped because he made a case for bandits and for visiting them in their forest enclaves.

Sheikh Gumi said: "In our mosque, we have paid a ransom and even now, somebody is asking me to assist him to pay the ransom. Our family driver who happens to be our relative, his son, a private soldier, was killed by bandits, so how I can support such people?”

He added that his efforts with bandits have been sabotaged recently, stressing that he has quit meeting with them because it will be dangerous for him to continue to engage with the hoodlums. Sheikh Gumi blamed those calling for his arrest as those behind the banditry in northern Nigeria, stressing that it is a constitutional right for someone to express his views.

“They are clowns, they don’t know anything about the Nigerian society, they don’t know about the Nigerian constitution and liberty. It is a constitutional right for someone to express his views, so long you are not calling for violence or to harm anybody.

“These people calling for my arrest, I don’t see them different from the bandits. To say that I am supporting or sponsoring bandits is malicious as I am just trying to cure them in my own way. I am trying to prevent it my own way and I have seen how my little efforts have helped,” Sheikh Gumi added.