Sheikh Gumi faces questioning over comments on military

Ahmad Gumi
Ahmad Gumi

The Department of State Services (DSS) has summoned Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi for questioning.

Gumi, who has been outspoken on the issue of banditry in Nigeria, recently alleged in an interview with Arise TV that some military operatives connive with bandits to commit crimes.

DSS spokesman Peter Afunaya told Channels TV on Friday, “Sheikh Gumi was invited by the Service.”

Gumi has served severally as a mediator between state governments and bandits. He had also called for amnesty for bandits.

Many, especially southerners, have been calling for his arrest, saying his sympathy for bandits should be questioned.

However, in an interview with the VOA Hausa service, Gumi’s spokesman, Tukur Mamu, dismissed the allegation against Gumi, saying that there was no where in the interview where Gumi categorically accused the military.

The spokesman explained that what Gumi said was what people have been saying and “even the soldiers have been saying that there could be some bad eggs amongst them.”