Insecurity: Inter-faith Group Demands Gumi’s Investigation, Arres

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

The National Inter-Faith Movement has called for the investigation and arrest of a popular Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, over an alleged attempt to incite religious crisis in the north.

The group made the call in a statement by its National President, Rev. Amos Adah, following the arrest of Gumi’s media consultant, Tukur Mamu.
Mamu, a newspaper publisher, negotiated the release of some of the hostages in the March 2022 train abduction in Kaduna. He was recently arrested by InterPol at Cairo International Airport on his way to Saudi Arabia, ostensibly for Lesser Hajj, and was deported to Nigeria, where he was picked up by the Department of States Services (DSS) at the Kano International Airport.

The statement said, “We have followed with keen interest, the investigation and arrest of Mamu by the DSS. We must say that this proves that our security agencies are working without many words. The DSS also acted timely to take Mamu to court.

“This is a smart move in the right direction. Any individual or group, who has decided to unleash anguish on fellow humans, must be made to pay. On behalf of other Christian leaders in Kaduna and the entire North-west, who have suffered from bandits, we say, thank you, to the intelligence community.
“However, they must not rest on their oars. If there is evidence to tie down Mamu, certainly, there will be more linked to his master, Gumi. Thus, we charge our gallant officers to take the next brave step to arrest and prosecute Gumi.”

The group stressed that Gumi had never hidden his love for bandits, saying he once called for amnesty for bandits, who killed and maimed thousands of unarmed civilians, women and children.

The statement continued, “Consequently, we demand the immediate arrest and interrogation of Gumi, who, by now, should be a person of interest to all intelligence and law enforcement agencies. He must tell Nigerians all he knows about the attack on the train, which led to the death and kidnap of countless citizens from whom large sums were collected as ransom.

“Gumi is now weaponising falsehood to incite Islamic fanatics against the Nigerian state through his sermons in mosques. To divert the attention of the security agencies, he already constituted himself in a court of law to exonerate his mentee. The security agents must act fast.”