Reports of the collapse of fragile peace deals between communities in Katsina State and the bandits terrorising a significant part of Nigeria are as concerning as what such deals should have been in the first place. We are deeply disturbed by the existence of these deals, to which neither the state nor the federal government appeared not to be privy.

Media reports indicate that 20 out of the 34 local governments in the state have been forced into such deals to secure the much-needed reprieve for their people. The terms have included a cessation of attacks on the communities by the bandits, and the release of hostages in their captivity, as well as unfettered access by the bandits to the community, including markets and hospitals.

In the Bakori area, bandits have released 45 abducted community members. As fragile and tenuous as these deals are, they have allowed community members to return to their farms and legitimate businesses for a price they should not have to pay in the first place.

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The absence of government in these deals indicates two things. First, the government has failed to secure the lives and property of the people in these communities; and has, in effect, abandoned them to find their own means of surviving the banditry scourge in their homes. This is clearly indicated in communities negotiating a clause requesting the bandits’ protection from attacks by other bandit groups. The second point is that these beleaguered communities are negotiating from a position of weakness instead of strength, with the bandits holding all the power and dictating most of the terms of the deals.

While the Katsina State governor has maintained that he would not enter into any negotiation with any bandit group from a position of weakness, it remains unclear what the state and federal government have done to secure a position of strength that could force an unconditional surrender from the bandits.

Previous peace deals the state entered into with the bandits have mostly served a cosmetic purpose, with the bandits retaining full authority and their arms, facing no consequences for their actions and reverting to crime whenever it is convenient for them.

While condemning these community deals in the strongest terms, we at Daily Trust acknowledge the very delicate position these communities are in, which compelled them to seek a peaceful solution to the Viking-age style raids, kidnappings, killings and illegal taxation by the bandits.

The failures of the Nigerian government, the military and the other security architecture to protect these communities have put them in this difficult position, where they are either overrun by the bandits or have to find ways to co-exist with them.

These are disadvantaged communities trying to find peace.

We note that while these deals might provide temporary reprieve for the communities, they have wider implications elsewhere. Such peace deals are inimical to the attempts to find lasting solutions to the security challenges facing the country. They not only serve as a reward system for enemies of the state but undermine security efforts by allowing the bandits to raid other communities while fragile peace deals hold with others.

This is reminiscent of the policy of divide and rule that was employed in colonial times to conquer the territories that would later become Nigeria. Already, Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II of Kano has called on the Katsina State Government to ensure that such agreements do not expose other parts of the region to violence.

This is coming in the wake of increased bandit incursions into Kano villages. The absence of the government and the military in the communities’ efforts to find peace through negotiations with the bandits is telling. It echoes the neglect these communities have faced over the years and government’s continued lack of commitment to deal decisively with the security situation.

While disparate communities scramble to negotiate deals with terrorists, we are concerned that these arrangements will only provide short-term relief for the communities and long-term validation for the criminals. Most shamefully, it will serve as a glaring proof that the Nigerian state has failed to secure its citizens from threats of violence and exploitation. 

Daily Trust expresses its categorical concern that in the long run, this will be detrimental to the wellbeing of the country. If an armed group feels that it can prey on the defenceless people of the country, secure ransom and advantageous negotiation positions and dictate terms to the hapless victims, it will not only embolden that group but others too.

While we completely support the official state policy of not negotiating with terrorists and those who seek to hold the country to ransom through egregious acts of violence and disorderly conduct, we must emphasise that for that policy to be impactful, it must be backed with the requisite action to deal decisively with these threats. The continued cosmetic approach to dealing with banditry, where bandits are placed on a pedestal and treated as celebrities, only to return to criminality soon after, must give way to more precise and strategic kinetic approaches.

This patchwork of peace deals must not be part of the long-term solution to this problem. And knowing how this country has functioned, we are seriously concerned that this approach, which effectively cedes our ungoverned spaces to bandits and terrorists, will be normalised.

While kinetic approaches remain central, the non-kinetic must be used strategically to address the situation. The government must develop and deploy a clear strategy to eliminate these threats and secure the communities for the long term while freeing them from having to negotiate from a position of weakness.