New Telegraph

Obasanjo, Gumi meet over insecurity

… recommend special courts to prosecute bandits, kidnappers, terrorists

…urge Nigerians to desist from blame game, ethnic back-up to crimes

 

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and renowned Islamic scholar, Sheik Ahmad Gumi, yesterday met behind closed-doors, with a call for the establishment of special courts to “deal promptly with cases of banditry, kidnapping, ransom demanding and unlawful carrying of weapons.”

 

The duo also insisted that there was the need for the people, irrespective of their affiliation, to desist from the blame game, as well as attributing ethnicity, religion, and region to crimes committed by criminals.

 

The meeting, which held at the residence of the former president in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, was part of efforts to find solutions to the menace of banditry, kidnapping, and payment of ransom, among other security threats in the land  New Telegraph learnt that discussions centred on the causes, effects and implications of the various security threats, as well as the reactions by communities, local authorities, state governments, and the Federal Government, as well as authorities in neighbouring countries and nations within West Africa.

Gumi, who arrived at Obasanjo’s residence at 11 a.m., left alongside his team at 4 p.m., had briefed Obasanjo on measures and steps he had taken to stem the tide of insecurity in many parts of the North.

 

The cleric, who was accompanied by eight others, including: Prof. Usman Yusuf, Mallam Tukur Mamu, Dr. Umar Ardo, Dr. Ibrahim Abdullahi, Suleiman Gumi, Alhaji Suleiman Yakubu and Mallam Buba Mohammed, visited Obasanjo in his Penthouse residence, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta. Gumi and his delegation were received by Obasanjo in the presence of Oba Bacasts

bajide Bakre, Agura of Gbagura, Abeokuta; Bishop Tunde Akin-Akinsanya, Chairman of the Ogun State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN); Sheikh Sa’addallah Alade Bamigbola, Chief Imam of Egbaland; Chief Kenny Martins, Chief Ola Babajide Jaiyeoba; Rev. Tony Ojeshina, Chief Imams of Oke-Ona, Gbagura, Owu and Mr. Vitalis Ortese.

 

After the closed-door meeting, Obasanjo and Gumi issued a 21-point recommendation on how to find lasting solutions to insecurity in the country. In the recommendations, they also sought for protection and reward covertly for whistle blowers against criminals living in the community.

 

They also called on the people to respect one another, show tolerance and accommodation where necessary, as well as condemn criminal acts, no matter where it was committed and by whom it was committed.

 

They attributed the remote causes of insecurity to, “educational and economic disparities, and the negative use of religion and ethnicity by unscrupulous politicians.”

 

They urged the Federal Government to take the issue of insecurity to ECOWAS in order to seek regional solutions.

 

The recommendations reads: “The Federal Government must be proactive, secure necessary and updated intelligence to deal with organised crimes and have common policy for the nation.

 

“It is not solving the problem when one state goes for negotiation and molly-cuddling of criminals and another one goes for shooting them. Nor should one state go for ransom payment and another one going against.

 

“Education is one main key to solve the problem in the long run, but it must start now. The 14 million children that should be in school and are out of school must be put in school with local authorities, state governments and Federal Government working together.”

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