Kaduna Forestry Students: Sheikh Gumi Opens Up on Alleged Payment of N.8m to Bandits
- One of the parents of the abducted students of the Kaduna forestry college claimed they paid N800,000 to the bandits through a man introduced to them by Sheikh Gumi
- The Islamic cleric has, however, denied being involved in any ransom payment deal and described the parent's claim as "nonsense"
- Similarly, the representatives of the parents of the abducted students have apologised to Gumi, confirming that he is not involved in any ransom payment
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Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a prominent Islamic cleric, has denied having anything to do with the N800,000 purportedly paid to secure the release of some abducted students in Kaduna state.
One of the parents of the abducted students of the College of Forestry Mechanisation in Afaka, Igabi LGA, had claimed Gumi directed them to a Fulani man named Ahmed who collected N800,000 from them.
Source: Twitter
Gumi reacts
Reacting to the allegation, Sheikh Gumi on Wednesday, May 5, described the woman's claim as “nonsense”, The Cable reported.
The cleric, who is known to have access to some of the bandits, said he is not aware of such a transaction, The Punch also stated.
He was quoted to have said:
“Absolute nonsense. I don’t know anything about any money transaction."
Parents of Afaka students apologise to Gumi
After Gumi's denial, some parents of the abducted students who have now been released apologised to the cleric, saying he’s not linked to the purported N800k ransom.
The Cable added that Abdullahi Usman and Catherine Saleh, chairman and secretary of the forum of the affected parents, respectively, said in a joint statement that no ransom was paid through Gumi and that the earlier claim by one of them has no basis.
The statement read in part:
“We wish to state in no unclear terms that the claim has no basis in fact. Though the woman in the said video has a child in captivity, her claim is untrue. The woman is not a member of the committee representing the affected parents and did not speak on behalf of the parents.
“To be sure, the Forum of the Abducted Parents has never gathered money and given to Gumi or to someone through the revered Islamic scholar at anytime."
They also apologised to Gumi for any personal injury the woman's claim might have caused him.
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President Buhari congratulates parents
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the release of the abducted students, saying he was happy.
The students, 27 of them, were released on Wednesday, May 5, after spending over 50 days in the den of their abductors.
Reacting to the development via a thread of tweets, the president congratulated the students' friends, families, and the Kaduna state government just as he thanked Nigerians for their prayers.
Source: Legit.ng
