The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has warned Nigerians against defending or trivialising crimes committed by bandits and herders.
The group listed the punishments for crimes by armed men to include execution, crucifiction, cutting off their hands and legs from opposite sides or sending them into exile while quoting the Qur’an.
Recall that Kaduna-based Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi had defended bandits, insisting that they are not criminals despite their atrocities.
During a recent televised interview, Gumi said that security agencies must stop killing bandits, adding that they are victims too.
But in a statement signed by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Friday, MURIC warned against making excuses for the crimes committed by these bandits across the country, calling on the Islamic cleric to rather educate the public on the position of the Shariah regarding banditry.
“We should also let the bandits know the gravity of their crimes and the ‘kabiirah’ status of their sins,” MURIC added.
MURIC noted that banditry is categorised in Islam as waging unprovoked war against the people, Allah and the great Prophet Muhammad.
Akintola states, “The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger by spreading evil and committing atrocities in the land is either execution, or crucifiction or cutting off their hands and legs from opposite sides or sending them into exile. That is their disgrace in this world and a heavy punishment awaits them in the Hereafter’ (Qur’an 5:33).
“Note should be taken of the promise of ‘heavy punishment’ for bandits even after death. It is for this reason that we are calling on all Islamic scholars in the country to boldly rise to the task and interprete the Shariah in a befitting manner”.
The Islamic human rights group therefore, called on all bandits to surrender to the state governments wherever they are operating without any form of negotiations.
“We therefore reiterate our call on all bandits and herdsmen who are traumatising Nigerians in Zamfara, Ondo, Ekiti, Enugu, Yobe, etc, to surrender without delay,” MURIC said.
“The atrocities committed by bandits and criminal herdsmen in all parts of the country should be fiercely confronted by state governments.
“Nigeria today is being slowly strangulated by two extremists, namely, those who idolise bandits and those who demonise ethnicities. Both groups are two extremes that must be deradicalised as quickly as possible.”
