A FORMER Commissioner for Education in Kogi State Oluwayomi David Atte has asked the State Security Service (SSS) and other security agencies to ascertain whether the image of Islamic scholar Sheik Gumi is more important to the government than the safety of Kogi people.
He also asked them to go after Gumi instead of inviting him (the ex-commissioner) for questioning.
Atte said this following an invitation to him by the SSS over his recent comments on Gumi, noting that his statements on Gumi’s visit to meet with foreign Fulani in the state was reliable.
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“Now, the numerous statements of Gumi about bandits, his clear sentiments of support for bandits, visiting them in their secret camps and taking photographs with them, heavily armed, are all in the public domain for Nigerians to see. And the government gives him free rein. Which community in Nigeria hears that Gumi is coming to visit Fulani in their area that will not be alarmed?”
“Is the protection of Gumi’s image more important to the government than the safety of Okun People?” he asked.
He said his decision to raise the alarm about Gumi’s intended visit to Okun land was to avert any mayhem that might result from the visit. Atte said some citizens of the land had been killed recently by alleged foreign Fulani in his communities.
“Okun People have lived peacefully with Fulanis for generations. In the last six years, an influx of foreign Fulani into Okunland has taken place with disastrous consequences for our people. We watched with bated breath as they swept through Adamawa, Taraba, Plateau, Benue, Kaduna, leaving behind a trail of bloodshed, massacres, destruction of farms, properties and communities. It is in public view that no concerted effort to stop them was made by the government.”
He said he had been invited to the SSS State office in Lokoja slated on Tuesday, 7th December 2021, at 10 am, but had not been accused of anything.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance