Ahmad Gumi, a prominent Islamic scholar, had asked government to give a blanket amnesty to the bandits. He had also said the armed group only kidnap schoolchildren to make money and not kill them.
But in a statement on Saturday, Ishaq Akintola, MURIC director, said governors must ensure that they spend their security vote on equipping their states’ security outfits in such a way that they can adequately and sufficiently meet the current security challenges.
“Nothing can extenuate the crimes committed by bandits. We should not look for excuses for them. Rather we should educate the Nigerian 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,” he said.
“Banditry is categorised as ‘hiraabah’ in Islam. ‘Hiraabah’ is a technical term in Shariah which means waging unprovoked war against the people. The Glorious Qur’an even ranked it as waging war against Allah and His messenger (i.e. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him).
“It says, ‘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).
“Thus we see that the Qur’an does not treat banditry with kid gloves. 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. Banditry has become a hydraheaded monster threatening to swallow up the social order. It must therefore be met with every necessary force to nip its threat in the bud.
“MURIC calls on all bandits to surrender to the state governments wherever they are operating. There can be no talks or any form of negotiation with bandits before surrendering. State governments should monitor the situation thereafter for a period no less than twelve months. The authorities can only start considering how to engage them in some productive ventures if no violent attack is reported within the period.“
The MURIC director said apart from the long arm of the law which will eventually catch up with the bandits, the “heavy punishment in the hereafter” is enough to dissuade them against continuing their nefarious activities.
He added that the country is in danger if there are no consequences for impunity and criminality.
