President Bola Tinubu has been advised to dialogue and negotiate with bandits who recently kidnapped 287 schoolchildren from a school in Kaduna State in a bid to secure their harmless release.
A prominent Islamic cleric and former military officer, Sheikh Ahmad Abubakar Gumi, gave the advice in a statement on Tuesday.
Gumi, while calling on the federal government to go into negotiations with bandits, admonished President Tinubu not to follow the footstep of former President Muhammadu Buhari who declined to dialogue with bandits who abducted Nigerians during his regime.
In a statement, the cleric said he was willing to facilitate comprehensive discussions between the federal government and the bandits.
Sheikh Gumi told President Bola Tinubu not to repeat the “mistake” made by Buhari who refused to open a channel of dialogue.
He was reacting after the Kaduna State government’s rejection to engage in talks with the bandits who kidnapped 287 students from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area, last week.
The Sheikh said refusing to negotiate was a wrong step to take.
Sheikh Gumi said: “The government’s stand of no negotiation with the bandits is an unfortunate position. My advice is that the government should dialogue with the bandits not only for these Kuriga school children abduction but all the cases.
“Also, the government should use the same approach it used in releasing passengers that were abducted on Abuja–Kaduna train in 2022 to release the Kuriga school children and others.
“I am ready to lead a holistic dialogue between the government and bandits. It is a religious duty for me to do so for peace.
“I hope the present government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will listen by dialoguing with the bandits because the past administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari refused to do so.”
