The Kaduna residence of popular and controversial Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has been gut by fire.
As of press time, the source of the fire couldn’t be established but efforts are ongoing to put out the inferno as seen in a video posted by the cleric on his Facebook page.
He captioned the video; “To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. Right now the house of Malam Sheikh Dr Ahmad Gumi is on fire right where Kulliyatul Banaat is.”
Gumi has been known to be sympathetic to the activities of bandits in Nigeria and has often told the government not to label them as criminals but grant them amnesty.
The cleric conducts frequent visits to the bandits in their forest hideouts where he urges them to embrace peace.
However, following the federal government order which proscribed the bandits as terrorists, Gumi said he would have nothing to do with them again.
He said the declaration of bandits as terrorists by the federal government has made it difficult for clergymen like him to intervene in the current security situation.
Sheikh Gumi who was responding to President Muhammadu Buhari-led government declaration of bandits as terrorists said the declaration was coming at a time the bandits were willing to negotiate.
He, however, noted that going by the recent declaration by the federal government, he will no longer engage the bandits.
He said: “We do not want to push the bandits beyond what they are presently doing because it can get worse. Why are you rushing to declare them terrorists when they are willing to negotiate?”
Speaking further, Gumi added, “The remaining door of negotiating with them are the clerics, but the door is now closed. I will not contact them again because that would mean one is aiding terrorists.”
