By Aliyu Nasidi
Kaduna-based Muslim cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has revealed his intention to dialogue with bandits who abducted about 287 schoolchildren from Kuriga Government Secondary and LEA Primary Schools in the Chikun Local Government Area of the state.
Gumi said this in a bid to facilitate the release of the abducted schoolchildren should President Bola Tinubu give him the opportunity to negotiate.
According to the prominent Islamic scholar, Tinubu must not repeat the mistake made by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who refused to dialogue with bandits.
Recall that bandits invaded the Kuriga area of the Chikun Local Government Area of Kaduna State, shooting at their victims before taking away at least 280 of the pupils and teachers from both schools.
The incident occurred barely 24 hours after insurgents abducted 200 internally displaced women in Borno State.
The women were kidnapped in Ngala, the headquarters of Gambarou Ngala in Borno State, while fetching firewood in the bush.
Penultimate Thursday, bandits invaded the Gonin-Gora in the same Chikun LGA, prompting residents to barricade the Kaduna-Abuja Expressway in protest against the abduction of an unspecified number of people in the area.