Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi says bandits have refused to end hostilities against the Nigerian government because they were not given land and “enough money”.
Mr Gumi said past attempts to broker peace with the bandits failed because they were not compensated “with lands or cattle or money big enough to help halt hostilities.”
He added that sometimes the government would “just give them (bandits) a million or two million and get their weapons without even looking at how they survive.” In a live stream on his Facebook page, the self-appointed mediator for bandits said only religion can be used to pacify them to embrace peace.