Bandits: Criminals are criminals and should be dealt with — Buhari

The Muhammadu Buhari government seemed to have ruled out the possiblity of granting amnesty to bandits.

This is according to chief of staff Ibrahim Gambari who met with security chiefs, northern governors and traditional rulers in Kaduna on Thursday.

“We are confronting the various dimensions of security challenges that continue to slow down the emancipation of our people from poverty and economic deprivation,” Gambari said.

“The government shall continue to deal with insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals constitute innocent threat citizens across the country.

“Criminals are criminals and should be dealt with accordingly without resorting to ethnic profiling.

“I have already tasked the new service chiefs to devise new strategies that will end this ugly situation where the lives of our people continue to be threatened by hoodlums and criminals.

“I expect that at this meeting, your forum (Northern Governors’ Forum) will also discuss and devise ways of building stronger collaboration with the security architecture and the people in defeating criminality across the region and the nation at last.

“It is pertinent to note that the increased realization of our security, democracy and development indices are inextricably linked.

“Democracy and the rule of law promote stability and in turn, reinforces the power to assert freedom and economic progress of our people.

“This thread of interconnection needs the support of the Northern State Governors Forum and the entire citizenry of the country as any amount of positive sacrifice would be beneficial in bringing about National development and security out nation.”

Gambari’s statement that the Buhari government would deal with criminals regardless of ethnicity contrasted that of Islamic cleric and bandits apologist Sheikh Ahmad Gumi who says kidnappers and killers should be given “blanket amnesty”.