Leaders of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), have called on the Federal Government to take action against Islamic scholar Sheik Ahmed Gumi.
Gumi who has been meeting with Fulani armed bandits and advocating amnesty for them was recently seen in a video saying the military attacks on the group are carried out by non-Muslim soldiers.
He later said he was quoted out of context.
But in a statement signed by elder statesman Edwin Clark, former Governor of Akwa Ibom state Victor Attah and senator Emmanuel Ibok-Essien, the group describes the statement as inciting.
Also Read: 16mn oil barrel controversy: Group seeks court order to prosecute Shell
“PANDEF calls on the Federal Government to declare the inflammatory statements by Sheik Gumi on the activities of the terrorists and bandits, including inciting them against Christian soldiers and equating them with Niger Delta agitators as “Hate Speech” and take urgent measures to call him to order”.
The group also expressed serious concerns over the worsening security and breakdown of law and order in several parts of the country.
It condemned the expanding activities of “Boko Haram terrorist group, the audacious atrocities of bandits, rampaging Fulani herdsmen, and recent upsurge in the kidnapping of innocent students in Kagara, Niger State, and Jangebe, Zamfara State”.
The PANDEF commended the efforts of security agencies in the release of some of the abducted persons and called on the federal government to redouble efforts to its constitutional obligation to protect the lives and properties of all Nigerians.
On the recent blockade of food supplies from entering the southern part of the country, PANDEF cautioned the association of farmers and cattle breeders against causing socio-economic upheaval in the country.
It urged the governors of the South South to improve investment in agriculture to ensure food security.
Editor: Oloyede Oworu
