The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Elijah Ayodele on Thursday warned President Bola Tinubu not to allow Islamic Cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi negotiate for the release of 285 students who were abducted in Kaduna.
Primate Ayodele said it is not ideal for a civilian to be negotiating with terrorists unless he is one of them.
He explained that allowing Gumi to negotiate will lead to more kidnapping attacks and ransom payment which will not end kidnapping anytime soon.
In a statement signed by his Media Aide, Oluwatosin Osho, Ayodele suggested that the government should interrogate Sheikh Gumi and prosecute him if possible to ascertain his involvement in the kidnap attack since he appears to know the terrorists.
He said: ‘’Let us allow the security agencies to get to the root of this issue, civilian interference will destroy our security outfit and turn it into something else. If a civilian negotiates, it means he is part of the kidnappers and any civilian who wants to get involved in the negotiation should be arrested and prosecuted.
‘’Allowing Sheikh Gumi to negotiate for the release of 285 children abducted in Kaduna is not advisable, he should be interrogated and prosecuted except the government is afraid of him.
“If he knows something about the kidnap, he should provide the information for the military and security agencies and not going to negotiate.’’
He said Nigerians have the responsibility to help security agencies secure the release of the children and bring an end to the menace in our society.
Primate Ayodele urged those who know the terrorists to expose them for the greater good of the nation.
‘’We need to rise up to save these children; it’s a bad signal to the government. We can’t go anywhere and ask for mercenaries, it belittles our security agencies.
“It’s time to take it seriously because they are a new syndicate. This kidnap was a set up, Tinubu should take it seriously or else it will blackmail his government. If you allow negotiation, there will be a big crisis. People are behind the kidnapping.
‘’Security agencies are not to be blamed; if the people are not cooperating there’s nothing they can do. We need to cooperate with them. Allowing this menace to escalate will be tantamount to economic hardship, scarcity and hardship. If they blame security personnel, it will not work.
“These people are within our society and the people need to expose them because they know them. This is not the best time for our country; many things are happening and going wrong. Things will be getting hard if we don’t curb kidnapping by supporting our security agencies, it will collapse the economy. Ransom is not the way to end kidnapping,” he said.
Kaduna Kidnap: Don’t allow Sheikh Gumi negotiate – Primate Ayodele to Tinubu
