Terrorists suspected to be from the Lakurawa group invaded a camp belonging to officers of the Nigeria Customs Service in Maje, a community in Bagudo Local Government Area of Kebbi State.
According to local sources, the assailants arrived in large numbers and opened fire indiscriminately on the camp, killing one Customs officer on the spot before setting the facility ablaze.
“The terrorists came in numbers and started shooting sporadically. Everyone ran for safety,” one resident disclosed.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Kebbi State Government nor the Nigeria Customs Service had issued an official statement regarding the incident.
Recall that the Kaduna-based Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, again defended bandits terrorising northern Nigeria, claiming they are on “revenge missions” rather than waging unprovoked violence.
Gumi, who has consistently courted public outrage over his sympathy for terrorists, made the remarks during an interview on Trust TV on Friday.
The Sheikh argued that the Fulani herdsmen and bandit groups “do not attack people without any cause.”
“The former governor of Bauchi State, (Isa) Yuguda, was able also to go with a government delegation into the bush and they met more than 5000 bandits. They are all complaining — those who have lost their parents, those who have lost their brothers, those from hostility too,” Gumi said.
While admitting that the killings carried out by bandits were “wrong and obnoxious,” the cleric maintained that the attackers were motivated by grievances and vengeance, not sheer brutality.
“Yes, I know they have killed, and it’s wrong to kill anybody innocent. This is absolutely an obnoxious thing to do. We don’t support that. But you see, if you know their psychology, they are on a revenge mission,” he said.
Gumi, who has long advocated amnesty and negotiation for bandits, further claimed that Fulani herdsmen had lived peacefully with other ethnic groups for centuries and are only reacting to injustices they suffered.
“Everybody knows the herdsmen, as well as the Fulani herdsmen. They don’t just attack people. We have been living with them for centuries. They don’t attack people without any cause,” he insisted.
He urged the Tinubu administration to unify and rehabilitate the armed groups instead of launching military offensives against them.
