Bandits hide in caves while military attacks people, cows – Yobe traditional ruler

Tukur Mamu, a traditional crown holder in Yobe State, has made a fresh disclosure about bandits and military bombardments in the state.

Mamu, believed to be in the camp of Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, said bandits told them that they usually run into caves whenever they hear the sound of military aircraft.

The ‘Dan Iyan Fika’ in Yobe State said women, children, and cows are affected by air raids and not bandits.

Speaking with journalists yesterday, the traditional ruler, faulted the approach of security agents in fighting banditry and terrorism.

The traditional ruler charged the military to provide evidence that bandits’ camps were actually bombarded.

According to Mamu: “There is a particular forest we visited in Niger State. The whole of the settlement had been bombarded.

“This settlement has nothing to do with bandits. In fact, they showed us two wells full of innocent people, dead, inside, casualties of these bombardments.

“That’s exactly what these bandits were telling us. They said, “Whenever we hear the sound of an aircraft, we run to our caves, and then run. If they will succeed in killing anybody, it is the small children, the wives or the cows.”

Gumi is known to have access to bandits in the northern part of the country.

The Islamic scholar had often advocated for a soft landing for bandits. He had severally urged the Federal Government to grant amnesty to bandits.

However, Gumi made a U-turn after an Abuja Federal High Court declared bandits terrorists.