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Sheikh Ahmad Gumi |
The Islamic cleric said a situation where under age 15 years children are planning to kidnap people for money due to high level of poverty in the country shows that Nigeria is heading for destruction.
Gumi stated this in a chat with Saturday Sun when asked to assess the security situation in the country.
“It became saturated because of the economic factor, suddenly the economy came into stagnation, and the people became desperate. So the economy blew out, and the security apparatus lacks adequate manpower and instruments to control the situation.
“It was a gradual thing and the economy bears the main point. You could see children under the age of 15 planning to kidnap, to get what? Money, because poverty is too widespread. So when you don’t get the economy right, you are going to destroy everything.
Asked if he thinks the long detention of Ibrahim El-zakzaky and Dasuki is justified, he added, “How can it be justified when the court of law said they should be released? This is what we are seeing in this government. Government should not use force to break the law of the land. In fact, they should be released when the law says they should be released.
“Two wrongs do not make a right, the moment government has mismanaged this thing, it has already turned them into some form of militancy which we hope, they are restricted, as soon as possible before they become full-blown insurrections.
“These people are no more afraid of authority because we have seen video clips where they are threatening police officers, and that is a sign that something should be done, otherwise they form their own authority.
“So government should equally address them too, Nigeria is not for you alone, you cannot impose your religion or creed on the country. Nigeria has to wake up because if we leave these two, they are all northerners, I know how our psychology is, and nobody wants to show he is defeated. But it is not a question of defeat, it is a question of law. Let them obey court order.”