By Alao Abiodun

Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has said bandits should not be castigated and referred to as criminals but rather, nice words should be used to describe them.

Speaking in an interview on Arise TV, Gumi said, “Youths are ready to put down their weapons, now you are calling them criminals. How do you want them to cooperate? So you have to show them they are Nigerians, that they should not hurt children, be law-abiding. This is the language we want to hear, the press should assist us in getting the boys.

“You see when we talk with them with nice words, they are ready to listen to us, put down their weapons but when the language is about criminality, killing them, then this is what we will keep having.”

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“You’re emphasising on criminality, even the press are criminals too because they are putting oil into fire. These people are listening to you, you should not address them as criminals if you want them to succumb,”

“We have a problem now, proliferation of arms, and there are drugs and semi-illiterate population. How do you deal with it? By castigating them and abusing them in the media?

“You’re talking to yourself, they don’t even listen to you so the best for us is the clergymen, the respected people, elderly try to reach them. Put sense into them, when you go, they lower their heads, they will listen, they will start giving excuses, accept their excuse but show them the way out. We are trying to nurture them out of this criminality.