Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi says the Ansaru terrorist group, was responsible for the Abuja-Kaduna train attack of March 2022.
In March 2022, a train traveling to Kaduna from Abuja was attacked by terrorists, and travelers were abducted.
Gumi who had played a role in negotiating with the abductors, which resulted in the release of some abductees in October 2022 said the Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP), was not responsible for the attack.
According to a report, Gumi said the abductees kidnapped their victims in reaction to certain wrongdoings by the state.
“We have a sense that they are the Ansaru faction; meaning they are more civilized than Boko Haram. It’s not an offshoot of ISWAP. They call it ISWAP here. I don’t think it is ISWAP or Boko Haram. It is Ansaru. The Ansaru are a little bit different,” Gumi said.
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The cleric, known for interfacing with terror groups, also said the Ansaru became violent after being disbanded by the Nigerian authorities.
“They are not Boko Haram. To them, Boko is not a problem. Their problem is that they want to seclude themselves in the forest so that they live their pristine life the way they envisaged it. But because of the fear of Boko Haram, the authorities disbanded them.
“When their camp was disbanded, they became armed. They’re not challenging the state. They were challenging wrongdoing by the state. That was why when they took the victims, they wanted their prisoners to be released. You’ve seen the difference now,” he said.
He called for a restructuring of the Nigerian security system, saying the current system had been compromised.
“In the ranks of the army and police, we have criminals. How do they get into the army? It is because now you cannot get into the security agencies unless you have money. We have criminals in the armed forces,” Gumi said.
