Controversial Islamic cleric Ahmad Gumi has taken his advocacy for bloodletting bandits to an entire new level, saying that the criminals have refused to end hostilities against the Nigerian government because they were not given land and “enough money”.

Mr Gumi said past attempts “to broker peace” with the bandits failed because they were not compensated “with lands or cattle or money big enough to help halt hostilities.”

He added that sometimes the government would “just give them (bandits) a million or two million and get their weapons without even looking at how they survive.”

In a live stream on his Facebook page on Tuesday, the self-appointed mediator for bandits said only religion can be used to pacify them to embrace peace.

Mr Gumi had once compared bandits to Niger Delta militants and asked that a federal ministry be established to address their grievances and that of killer Fulani herders.

Contrary to Mr Gumi’s stance, Katsina Governor Aminu Masari, openly admitting that Fulanis are the bandits killing and kidnapping Nigerians, said they don’t deserve amnesty.