A popular Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has reiterated the call for bandits to be granted amnesty.

Gumi said bandits would not leave until the Federal Government grants them amnesty like it did to the Niger Delta militants.

He made the statement in a post on his Facebook page entitled: ‘Zamfara: The Flaring Of Crisis.’

The cleric warned that military action against armed herders would worsen the insecurity situation rather than solve it.

He cited the recent Taliban take over in Afghanistan, and stressed that no military, especially of a poor economy, can win guerrilla warfare.

The statement reads in part: “By 2015, banditry has replaced cattle rearing that is becoming nearly impossible. Drugs were introduced into the herdsmen that are known to be illiterates or semi-illiterates.

“Just as we had the Niger Delta conflict resolved with an amnesty which comes with reconciliation, reparation, and rehabilitation packages, so will the herdsmen crisis be resolved. In fact, there is a need for a Marshal plan to educate the nomadic pastoralist so that no citizen is left behind.

“No military, especially of a poor economy, can win guerrilla warfare. The recent victory of the Taliban in Afghanistan is a factual warning for those that contemplate.”[tps_header][/tps_header]