Ahmad Gumi, an Islamic cleric from Kaduna, has accused the Nigerian government of converting bandits in the country’s northwest and central regions into religious fighters, similar to Boko Haram insurgents operating in the northeast. He claims that a recent video showing Bello Turji, the ebullient leader of terrorism, and his armed bandits celebrating “victory” over the Nigerian military and claiming they are fighting for God is proof that the group has embraced Boko Haram’s ideology.
Recall how soldiers abandoned their vehicles during an operation in the volatile Zamfara State in the northwest of the country on Thursday, setting two Nigerian military Mines Resistant Armour Personnel (MRAP) vehicles that were stuck in the mud in Zamfara State on fire?
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In a Facebook post, the cleric said that rather than showing bandits resisting ethnic marginalisation, the video posted by Mr. Turji’s group showed them as members of Boko Haram. He said that in order to prevent the bandits from turning into terrorists and guerrilla fighters, he had counselled the Nigerian government to use caution when dealing with them.
He claimed that the organisations had given up on their original struggle against marginalisation and had embraced the Boko Haram philosophy of battling and murdering in the name of God, as evidenced by the video.
“Radicalisation of Bandits: I warned against the danger,” the cleric wrote.
“Initially Bandits were fighting an ethnic war that could easily be resolved. I warned if the kinetic approach is intensified, they will turn into ideologically motivated guerilla warfare. Nobody listened.
“The difference between the former and the latter is that ideological war is mostly intractable, BH (Boko Haram) as an example. They commit the same crime, but this time, they think they are serving God. The picture is gloomy.”
This newspaper reported seeing a video of a jubilant terrorism kingpin, Mr Turji, and his armed bandits celebrating “victory” over the Nigerian military after burning down two Mines Resistant Armour Personnel (MRAP) vehicles stuck in the mud.
