Most Fulani, Bandits’ Camps in Zamfara are enclaves of Insurgency–Sheik

▪︎600 bandits receive Sheikh Gumi’s peace delegation

The influential Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, who is believed to hail from Gummi Local Government of Zamfara, has described the armed Fulani and bandits’ camps as nothing but enclaves of full-blown insurgency.

Gumi, who has been a vocal critic of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and had called for his resignation, recently went on a mediation and peace-building mission in Zamfara State.

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“In most of the bandits and Fulani camps we have visited in Zamfara, it is nothing but an insurgency,” he was quoted to have said after his peace and reconciliation visit.

In the same vein, a report by TheWhistler revealed that not less than 600 bandits, wielding automatic rifles, met Sheikh Ahmad Gumi when he visited Makkai Forest in Shinkafi Local Government Area of Zamfara State on Wednesday in continuation of a self-sponsored nationwide outreach against banditry.

Zamfara State has faced serious security challenges due to threats from armed groups stealing cattle, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes.

Hundreds have been killed in attacks on rural communities by bandits while several villages had been razed.

Sheikh Gummi and his entourage, which included other prominent Northern leaders, were in the state to kick-off a one week peace and reconciliation process to end banditry in the state before moving to other states in some parts of the north.

A member of the delegation told that the bandits that met them at Makkai forest were large in number.

“Over 600 heavily armed youths surrounded us when we met their leaders in Makai forest,” the source said.

This news medium learnt that the notable cleric has sought to re-orientate the bandits by preaching Islamic messages on the importance of peace, love and the dangers of violence and hatred.

Before visiting Makkai, the delegation had visited Tubali forest, also in Shinkafi LGA of the state where they met nearly 200 bandits.

The local government area is said to be under the control of bandits.

It was reported that the chairman of Shinkafi council told the delegation that the council had spent seven months without any attack since a peace agreement with bandits, unlike the previous situation where daily kidnappings and banditry inflicted massive causalities on the community.

The bandit commander was also quoted to have said: “Let the killings of our loved ones by security agents without due process of the law stop, as well as cattle rustling that denied most of us legitimate means of livelihood.”

Gumi was also quoted to gave told the leaders of the bandits: “Let there be peace; you all have a legitimate concern and grievances, and I believe that since the Niger Delta armed militants were integrated by the Federal Government and are even in the business of pipelines protection, the Federal Government should immediately look into how something like that will be done to the Fulani to provide them with reasonable means of livelihood including jobs, working capitals, entrepreneurship training, building clinic and schooling.” (TheWhistler)