By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
The photo of a popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, posing in photographs with the bandits terrorising poor communities in Zamfara State, has surfaced on the internet.
Gumi, has, in the last few weeks being engaging bandits across the country, appealing to them to sheathe their swords and guns and embrace peace.
Gumi commenced the daring peace mission by visiting Fulani communities that have been profiled to be neck-deep into kidnapping.
In the first leg of the outreach, Gumi visited communities along the Kaduna-Abuja highway, including; Gamagira in Soba LGA and Kidandan in Giwa LGA.
After touring the bandits’ base in Kaduna, Gumi extended the mission to Zamfara. It was in Zamfara that he was pictured with the bandits who flaunted their weapons including an RPG while posing for a photograph with him.
A resident of Zamfara, Yusuf Anka, who shared the photograph on his twitter handle @ankaboy, captioned the photo thus: “Sheikh Gumi met some of the most notorious men in Zamfara in his efforts to understand and unveil the grievances behind the lingering crisis. Some of them Include Kachalla Turji of Shinkafi/Sokoto Axis and Kachalla Muhammadu Bello.”