What I saw in Zamfara is insurgency not banditry — Gummi

Sheikh Ahmed Mahmoud Gummi has said what is happening in Zamfara state is insurgency and not banditry.

Gummi, who was in Government House, Gusau, on Thursday for a meeting with the governor, Bello Matawalle, said those he saw were insurgents and not bandits.

According to him, they turned into insurgents following the bad treatment from the people of the state.

“In most of the bandits and Fulani camps we have visited in Zamfara, I come to understand that what is happening in the state is nothing but an insurgency.” he said.

He also disclosed that the bandits he met in the forests were carrying weapons and attacking people because of persistent attacks and harassment from vigilante groups.

He also stated that many of them had indicated their readiness to surrender their weapons and embrace peace if the vigilante groups stopped attacking and killing them.

To this end, he appealed to governments at all levels to embrace dialogue with the bandits and other insurgents in the country, expressing optimism that “dialogue is the only option to end the menace.”

He commended Governor Matawalle for introducing dialogue with the bandits as a means of ending banditry, calling on other governors to emulate him.

“Some people are of the view that the bandits should be fought and killed, but what we understand is that majority of them are illiterates who need proper education and enlightenment,” he added.

In his response, Governor Matawalle said his administration would continue to dialogue with the bandits no matter what his political opponents would say.