Tobias Sylvester
President Muhammadu Buhari has ruled out any possibility for granting amnesty to bandits, saying his government will deal with any form of criminality.
KanyiDaily recalls that a popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi, had called on the Federal Government to give bandits willing to make peace ‘blanket amnesty’ if the current security situation must be tackled.
However, President Buhari declared on Thursday that the bandits, who are killing and kidnapping innocent Nigerians, are criminals and should be treated as such.
He made this declaration through his Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, during a security meeting of the Northern State Governor’s Forum and traditional rulers in Kaduna State.
The President admitted that the country is battling with different dimensions of security challenges, but added that he has asked the new Service Chiefs to devise new strategies that will end the ugly situation.
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“This meeting is coming at a time when the nation is making steady progress in addressing the many challenges impeding development and progress,” Buhari said.
“We are providing critical infrastructural facilities such as roads, railways, airports, among others, which are critical to economic prosperity of our people as well as opening up economic opportunities for our citizens to pursue legitimate aspirations that grow the economy.
“At the same time, we are confronting the various dimensions of security challenges that continue to slow down the emancipation of our people from poverty and economic deprivation.
“The government shall continue to deal with insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals that constitute threat to innocent citizens across the country.
“Criminals are criminals and should be dealt with accordingly without resorting to ethnic profiling. I have already tasked the new service chiefs to devise new strategies that will end this ugly situation where the lives of our people continue to be threatened by hoodlums and criminals.
“I expect that at this meeting, your Forum will also discuss and devise ways of building stronger collaboration with the security architecture and the people in defeating criminality across the region and the nation at large.
“It is pertinent to note that the increased realization of our security, democracy and development indices are inextricably linked are inextricably linked. Democracy and rule of law promote stability and in turn reinforce the power to assert freedom and economic progress of our people.”
Meanwhile, Sheikh Gumi has warned Nigerian journalists to stop addressing bandits as criminals so that they will willingly put down their weapon.
