Islamic cleric, Ahmad Sheikh Gumi has said that the Nigerian Press are “criminals” for their consistent reporting of the activities of bandits and describing the outlaws as criminals.
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Gumi, an outspoken Islamic scholar has been at the forefront of negotiations with the bandits often visiting them in the forests.
According to Gumi, the bandits will refuse to surrender if the Press keeps referring to them as criminals.
He stated this on Wednesday when he made an appearance on ARISE News.
“You are emphasising on criminality, I don’t know. Even the Press (journalists) are criminals too because they are putting oil into fire. These people are listening to you, don’t address them as criminals if you want them to succumb,” the Sheikh told ARISE News.
“Youths are ready to put down their weapons, now they are hearing you call them criminals, how do you want them to cooperate. So you have to show them that they are Nigerians and that they should not hurt children and that they should be law abiding, these are the language we want to hear from the Press to assist us in getting the boys.
“When we talk to them in nice a wordings they are ready to put their weapons down, they are ready to listen to us, but when the language is about criminality, kill them, jail them, then this is what we will end up having,” Gumi added.
By Abel Ejikeme
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