Femi Adesina, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, has tackled controversial Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, for saying that military onslaught would worsen banditry in Nigeria.

KanyiDaily recalls that Sheikh Gumi had declared that bandits are going nowhere until the Nigerian government grants them amnesty as it gave to Niger Delta militants.

The cleric also warned that military action against criminal herdsmen and bandits will not solve the security challenges in the country, but “will only worsen the situation” by pushing them closer to religious fanaticism.

Reacting in an article on his Facebook page on Thursday titled, “I like this pampering. Don’t you?,” Adesina described Gumi as a “bandit-lover”, noting that the cleric’s position on the military bombardment of the bandits is “false”.

The presidential aide said bandits already reneged the amnesty offers given to them by some state governments, adding that the military offensive won’t stop until all the criminals are destroyed.

“Bandits Going To Hell” – Femi Adesina Tells Sheikh Gumi

Quoting the cleric’s statement verbatim, Adesina told Gumi that the bandits attacking some regions in the country are surely not going to hell and he knows this very well.

“Before they got to this sorry pass, they had the chance to turn a new leaf. Zamfara, Katsina, and many other states offered dialogue. The governments tried to negotiate with them. But they were contumacious.

“Like dogs fated for destruction, they refused to hear the hunters’ whistle. They filled the land with sorrow, tears, and blood, ‘dem regular trademark’ (as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti would say). Now, the shoe is on the other foot.

“In the different evil forests, when the Nigerian Air Force strikes from the sky, the remnants of the evildoers not killed immediately attempt to flee. The ground troops then pick them off like flies. I say it again. One has never been prouder of our troops. They are cleaning up the country.

“Shocking and disconcerting, however, that in the middle of all these, you still hear words meant to discourage our gallant soldiers.

“A bandit-lover is on record as saying military offensive would not work, and that the bandits “are going nowhere.” True? False. They are going somewhere. And that is: hell.”

KanyiDaily recalls that Sheikh Ahmad Gumi had recently advised the Nigerian Government to use ”good bandits” to fight the “bad ones”.