Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has said the splinter group that abducted the female students of Government Girls Secondary School Jangebe in Zamfara state kidnapped the students because they were never invited for any peace process with the state government.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Nigerian Tribune in Kaduna on Monday, Gumi also said the splinter group has a way of proving how strong they are and decided to kidnap the students.
He told the Nigerian Tribune that “Many are involved in trying to secure the girls,” adding, “hopefully they will regain their freedom soon.”
When asked whether he was shocked that this was happening in Zamfara after his meeting with the bandits, he answered, “I was shocked and I was not shocked. Yes, I was shocked that a huge number of students would be kidnapped in a school and nobody could track them until they vanished. On the other hand, I was not shocked because it was carried out by a splinter group, not the ones I met in the forest.”
On the reason for the abduction, the Islamic scholar said they did what they did because according to them they were left out in the negotiations table.
“Those who abducted these students, if you hear the reasons they gave for the act, you will marvel. One of the reasons they gave was they heard there was a peace process between the government and some of the bandits to the extent the government is even pardoning some of them.
“Why were they left out in the peace deal? Why were they not invited to the peace deal?”
On the video that went viral accusing him of instigating the bandits against the non-Muslims, the renowned Islamic scholar noted that the clip was edited to malign his person, saying some media firms also fell for the mischief.
“If you heard what I said from the beginning of the video you will understand it. But those who did it have an ulterior motive. I have released the full video on my Facebook wall,” he declared.
On the claim that journalists are criminals, he said he was misunderstood, saying, “I am a friend of the media. I did not mean all journalists are criminals. But any journalist whose intention is to cause war or violence through his reports is also committing a crime.”
The Islamic scholar said from what he saw, peace would be attained, but “the government must come in to ensure that we have everlasting peace.”
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