Nigeria is facing a severe crisis of state authority, exemplified by the disastrous qct of engaging in peace deals with criminal bandits.
This practice, currently unfolding in places like Katsina State where several local governments have reportedly signed agreements with marauders, is not just a policy error, it is an act of capitulation that compromises the very foundation of the Nigerian State.
The primary constitutional duty of the Nigerian State, as stipulated in Section 14(2)(b), is to ensure the security and welfare of the people. When officials sit down to negotiate with armed renegades, especially as victims mourn and families search for the abducted, the State effectively surrenders its monopoly on force. This message of weakness emboldens the criminals, placing them on an equal footing with the Republic itself.
History has repeatedly demonstrated the futility of this approach. Past attempts at amnesty and negotiation in states like Katsina and Zamfara including former Governor Aminu Bello Masari’s efforts and former Governor Mohammed Matawalle’s amnesty program only resulted in an escalation of killings, raids, and abductions.
The current administration in Katsina is bafflingly repeating these mistakes. Reports of heavily armed bandits attending peace meetings only to return to the forest with their weapons intact is an undeniable humiliation for both the government and security agencies.
Criminals do not respect dialogue; they respect strength and consequence.
Beyond immediate security concerns, this cycle of negotiation has transformed banditry into a vibrant economic cash cow. The perceived ease of securing deals, and crucially, the widely held suspicion that ransoms are being paid, shifts the perception of the crime from one of fear to one of lucrative business.
This is where the government’s dual approach becomes suspect. To pacify bandits with one hand while requesting bloated defense budgets with the other fuels suspicion that insecurity itself has become a profitable industry.
While we commend the efforts of the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) spearheaded by Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, there remains a public trust deficit. Noteworthy Nigerians have expressed deep concern over the possibility of ransom payments, arguing that where there is smoke, there is usually fire. This practice not only provides direct funding for the criminals to re-arm and escalate their operations but also undermines the morale and loyalty of security agencies.
A peace that sacrifices justice is a betrayal of the innocent. The thousands killed, raped, and displaced deserve restitution, not the mockery of seeing their tormentors shake hands with government officials.
Nigeria must draw a firm line and recognize that bandits are not misunderstood citizens; they are killers, kidnappers, rapists, and extortionists. To dignify them with negotiations is to mock the Constitution.
The way forward demands decisive action, not appeasement. The government must enforce a zero-tolerance policy against paying ransoms to bandits and terrorists. To address public suspicion, it must identify any personnel within armed offices facilitating such payments, reprimand them severely, and make this policy ironclad.
The States must also return to decisive military action coupled with superior intelligence to dismantle bandit structures and financing networks. Nigeria requires leaders who understand that the monopoly of force belongs exclusively to the State and must never be shared or outsourced to outlaws.
To continue negotiating with bandits is to betray the blood of innocents and ultimately surrender the Republic. Nigeria must urgently rise above this weakness and reassert itself as the sole custodian of law, force, and justice