Kaduna based Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has denied an online media report saying his brother was kidnapped by bandits.

He described the news as fake.

In a statement issued by his media consultant, Tukur Mamu, issued in Kaduna on Sunday, the cleric described the news as mischievous and misleading to Nigerians.

He enjoined the public to disregard the fake news, saying that it is not impossible in today’s Nigeria to even kidnap him or even those in authority.

According to the statement, the story by some sections of the media was deliberately misquoting the cleric in order to give a picture “that the brother of the person supporting the bandits has also been kidnapped” is mischievous, misleading and diversionary.

It is actually from the content of an interview recently granted to some members of the press where Sheikh Gumi was saying he is surprised that some elements think he is unnecessarily supportive of the bandits,” the statement said.

It explained that in the said interview, he told them that he is equally a victim of their (bandits) terror as they have kidnapped his own biological brother about three years ago and that the security agents could not do anything which left them with the option of paying ransom before he was released.

The statement disclosed that a driver of his father was also killed by the same bandits, adding that all this is not enough reason to say he will not seek for peaceful resolution of the crisis for the purpose of preserving peoples lives and properties especially if they look back at the government’s failure to address issues that will help in bringing a lasting solution.

The statement said that military power alone or declaring the bandits as terrorists cannot end banditry and killings in Nigeria.

It added that the government has failed to address the root cause of the armed Fulani banditry and the security imbroglio, particularly in the North West.