Some Commanders of bandits on Friday applauded the effort of Niger State government for reaching out to them for peace.
Bandits whose activities have overwhelmed Niger State government as no day passes without kidnapping, assured government that normalcy would return to the State for initiating peace meeting.
The bandits who spoke separately, however, appealed to the State Government to release some of their members who were arrested by security agents and detained across the State.
Commanders of criminal gangs spoke when the Islamic Scholar, Dr. Sheik Ahmed Gumi, and the Secretary to the State Government, (SSG), Ahmed Ibrahim Matane visited Dutsen Magaji, Mariga Local Government Area of the State to dialogue with them.
The SSG urged bandits to lay down their arms and embrace peace, saying Niger State government was ready to consider their demands.
The SSG who was accompanied by a renowned Kaduna-based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi further called on other criminal elements like the kidnappers and cattle rustlers to join in the peace dialogue process in order to put an end to the security challenges that have bedeviled the State over the years.
The SSG told the bandits Commanders to intervene in the release of the abducted passengers of Niger State Transport Authority and Students of Government Science College, Kagara.
The SSG stressed the need for religious leaders and other stakeholders to embark on how to get the bandits, kidnappers, and cattle rustlers to key into the peace initiatives of the Government.
Reacting, Dr. Sheikh Gumi n his remarks, expressed hope that dialoguing with the bandits will put an end to the current insecurity in the State and country at large.
He reminded the gangsters that Islam forbade taking the lives of innocent people and appealed to them to embrace peace by laying down their arms.
The Cleric assured bandits of government’s support for them once they have come out to live a normal life, while he distributed Islamic books to them.
