Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, has said he would lead the calls for the release of the convicted leader of the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, if the latter shows remorse over his terrorist activities against the Nigerian government.
Mr Gumi stated this on a Channels Television programme on Tuesday morning.
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He also spoke about his campaign for a non-kinetic approach to fighting insecurity in Nigeria.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Kanu was convicted by the Federal High Court in Abuja after being found guilty on all seven counts charged against him by the Nigerian government.
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The trial judge, James Omotosho, consequently sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Mr Omotosho also ordered that he be denied access to mobile devices and broadcast equipment except under the watch of security operatives.
Campaign for his release
Mr Gumi said he would champion the campaign for Mr Kanu’s release just as the former President Shehu Shagari administration did to former leader of the separatist group, Odumegwu Ojukwu.
“This Kanu that was imprisoned for terrorism for agitating that our soldiers should be killed, if this same Kanu now will show remorse and also call for peace, honestly, I will be in the forefront in calling for his pardon and amnesty for him.
“Look, Shagari, our president, we are from the same town. Shagari gave amnesty to (Odumegwu) Ojukwu. Look at Umar Yar’Adua; he gave amnesty to the Niger Delta militants, who also committed acts of terrorism. So, this is how we are”, Mr Gumi said on the TV programme.
Mr Gumi, who has been at the forefront of calls for governments to adopt a non-kinetic approach to resolving security issues, especially in the northern parts of Nigeria, said the country will be better off with that.
The cleric claimed that since “we have people who are ready to put down their arms, then why do you always decide it has to be kinetic?
“Even America could not succeed in Afghanistan, even Israel could not succeed in a small strip of land. Our army is not designed for the guerilla; no army is designed for the kind of people we are showing now, no army is designed for it.
“If you have been following, the Fulani herdsmen have been calling for peace. When you call them for peace, they come with their guns for many reasons.
“Can you call IPOB for peace? Can you call Boko Haram? I think the former president has called for peace, and they came, but now it’s difficult to call for peace again. So, anybody who inclines to peace, I’m with him, I’m telling you”, Mr Gumi stated.
His comments followed mass abduction incidents in Kebbi, Niger and Kwara states, and armed groups terrorising citizens across the country, killing and kidnapping at will.
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Over 300 students were kidnapped from a Catholic school in Niger State last week.
In Kwara State, they attacked a church and kidnapped 38 worshippers. The worshippers were later released on Monday.
The victims of the abduction in Niger and Kebbi are still under captivity as of the time of this report.
In Borno, a brigadier general and other security officials were killed recently when terrorists ambushed them.
In Abuja, a police officer was killed on Friday when a security team foiled an attack by about 30 gunmen on a community in the Bwari Area Council.
The worsening security situation caused President Bola Tinubu to cancel his scheduled attendance at the G20 Summit in South Africa. He was, instead, represented by his deputy, Kashim Shettima.
The president had ordered security operatives to go after the assailants, but opposition figures have faulted his government’s handling of the situation, describing it as inadequate.
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