Islamic group kicks against proposed amnesty for bandits, others

An Islamic group, Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria (MMWG), Tuesday kicked against the proposed amnesty for bandits, kidnappers and the Boko Haram sects.

The agitations for the amnesty for the criminals had been rife in recent times following the personal involvement of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi in the rescue mission to nip the violent crimes in the bud.

But MMWG in a statement by its National Coordinator, Ibrahim Abdullahi, said granting of amnesty to criminals would encourage criminality in the country.

He cited the Katsina and Zamfara states’ experiences, pointing out those who claimed to have repented went back to their crimes and started terrorising those states and their neighbouring states.

He said: “Following the recent insecurity in the northern parts of the country especially in Maiduguri, Kagara and Jangebe, the alarm on the necessity for granting criminals involved in Boko-Haram attacks, banditry, kidnapping and abduction of innocent citizens including boys and girls in secondary schools, has been rife.

“This came about as a result of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s voluntary involvement in the rescue mission to nip the violent crimes in the bud, his personal opinion that the criminals be considered for amnesty based on the information given by the criminals terrorising Nigeria and its citizens are not as weighty as the arguments of those opposing amnesty for them.

“If the criminals say that their cattle were rustled, farmlands destroyed, politicians used and dumped them and that corruption is too much on the land and that is why they engage in criminality, then they should be told that their criminality as a means of survival is worse than what they accused some people of;  and they should be educated that their criminal acts are punishable with capital punishment.

“Secondly, all the criminals wherever they are located are insignificant in number  compared with suffering of Nigerians! They should therefore stop kidnapping people for payment of ransom and killing people to steal their foodstuff and other properties.

“The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria therefore condemns in entirety granting of amnesty to the criminals especially bandits, kidnappers and murderers who have made life difficult for everybody in Nigeria.”

Abdullahi, however, called for the suspension of boarding facilities in all states in the north for the time being, adding that states should workout temporary arrangement for them to study in their various localities until the ‘enemies of the people’ are located and eliminated through concerted efforts of the military, the police and other intelligence agencies.

On the approval of hijab for female Muslim children and students in Kwara state, the group stated that hijab is not new in the state and in the country.

MMWG appealed to Kwara CAN to stop causing trouble in the state but abide by the Rule of Law.

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