The Nigeria Department of State Service (DSS), has its eyes on Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who has been advocating for amnesty for bandits in the country, much like how Niger Delta militants were handled during late President Musa Yar Adua's government.
According to a report by the Leadership, the DSS has been under pressure to summon Gumi following the arrest of terrorists negotiator, Tukur Mamu, an associate of Gumi.
The director-general of the DSS, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, while marking the end of his first term and the beginning of his second term as the head of the secret service, revealed that the secret police will go after all subversive elements creating problems in Nigeria.
The DSS boss said the Service is already compiling dossiers of those creating tension and threatening the peaceful co-existence of Nigeria and would soon clampdown on them.
The report also claims that Gumi who wasn't pleased with the arrest of Mamu, has been making statements condemning the move by the DSS, and calling for Mamu's release.
According to a source as reported by the Leadership, “Mamu who is a close associate of Gumi was found with $151,000, military accoutrements, gun magazines and other incriminating items," yet wondered why Gumi is talking about his release instead of allowing justice take its cause.
Meanwhile, a civil society organisation, the Coalition for Peace in Nigeria (COPIN) called on the Service to, as a matter of urgent national importance, investigate and possibly arrest Gumi over alleged romance with bandits/terrorists.
“This is more so that Mamu, the bandits’ negotiator, is the undisputed spokesperson for the Kaduna-based influential Islamic cleric,” the group said.
In a statement jointly signed by the national coordinator of COPIN, Pharmacist Emeka Akwuobi, and national secretary, Hajiya Fatih Yakub, the peace advocacy group said Gumi has a lot of explanations to offer on the activities of bandits, especially those operating within the North West general area.
According to COPIN, Gumi should ordinarily be a person of interest, considering his open fraternity with bandits and kidnappers threatening national security, as well as his persistent call on the federal government to grant the terror elements amnesty.
The group further noted that the arrest of Gumi is fundamental to a peaceful election, considering the fact that he will provide the Service with credible/actionable intelligence on the actual locations and modus operandi of the terrorists, culminating in their arrest.
The group threatened to organise a peaceful protest in Abuja and other cities should the intelligence agency fail to invite Gumi for interrogation.
The statement reads in part: “We have watched with keen interest the provocative tendencies of Sheikh Gumi, especially as they relate to the activities of bandits/terrorists operating within the the North West general area.
“We note, with concern, Gumi’s call for grant of amnesty to terrorists, who have killed and maimed thousands of unarmed civilians, including women and children.
“Of particular interest is the kidnap of over one hundred Abuja/Kaduna train passengers by the terrorists in April this year, many of whom are still being held under terrible conditions.
“As a peace advocacy group, we condemn all these evil acts perpetrated by the terror group, and other enemies of state operating under whatever name, as we insist that nobody, or group has the right to take arms against the State, regardless of their grievances.
“Consequently, we demand the immediate arrest and interrogation of Gumi who, by now, should be a person of interest to all intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
“We will not hesitate to mobilise for peaceful protests in strategic cities, including Abuja, if the DSS fail to invite the Islamic Cleric for interview on all he knows about bandits/terrorists holding the North West states, and parts of North Central, to ransom.”