Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a popular Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, has expressed doubts about the readiness of armed gangs terrorising northwest Nigeria, commonly called 'bandits', to sheath their swords.

Gumi spoke in an interview with The Punch, published on Sunday, October 6, where he insinuated that the terrorists are angry more than ever.

“At the moment, they have started shouting “Allahu Akbar,” and that is what we are fearing. Now they are committing the same crimes of killing, sexually assaulting, and slaughtering.

“When we went there, they were not shouting “Allahu Akbar.” Now, they are aggrieved, and they think it is a revengeful fight. They must have been engaged by religious fanatics. This is what we feared.”

Legit.ng reports that bandits routinely loot villages and carry out mass kidnappings for ransom in northwest and north-central Nigeria, where the violence has displaced about one million people, according to the United Nations (UN).

Although, several of the bandit kingins have been recently neutralised, there are some deadly terrorirsts who remain evasive, causing concerns especially among northerners.

According to SBM Intelligence, an Africa-focused research firm, 4,777 people have been abducted since President Tinubu took office on May 29, 2023.