Kaduna State Government on Friday said no money was paid to bandits for them to surrender their arms.
The
government also ruled out the possibility of entering into a form of dialogue or negotiations with some repentant bandits.
Governor Uba Sani disclosed this during an exclusive interview with Channels Television’s Politics Today, a day after the government received some repentant bandits in the state.
“We did not give them one naira,” the governor said when asked if the state government made a financial bargain for the bandits to lay down their arms.
“There was no monetary issue at all. Most of them are tired, we sat down with them and asked them, ‘Why do you continue to remain in the bush just attacking our people, kidnapping them?”
Forgiven Of Their Crimes?
On Thursday, the state government received the first set of repentant bandits in Birnin-Gwari and reopened the cattle market, which had been closed for about 10 years due to insecurity in the area.
The development is a major breakthrough in the state government’s efforts to address the security challenges that have plagued the state for years.
During the show, the governor was asked if his administration granted forgiveness to the bandits for the atrocities they committed in the past.
He however shied away from the question. Governor Sani noted that it took his administration six months to broker peace with the bandits.
“It is a process that took almost six months precisely to reach this position. Birnin Gwari is one of the most critical local governments in terms of banditry, kidnapping and insurgency in the North-West.
“We also partner with the federal security agencies, the office of the National Security Adviser. So it’s is a collective effort,” Sani added.
According to the governor, the disarmament, mobilisation and integration of the repentant bandits are in process.
The Kaduna State Government has been working tirelessly to engage stakeholders and build trust among the various communities in the state.
Nigeria has been plagued by armed violence since the 2009 emergence of the Boko Haram group in the Lake Chad basin, in the northeast of the country.
Various groups have split from or emerged alongside the insurgency, notorious for several mass kidnappings of school girls, despite a military crackdown.
Armed bandits and kidnap gangs have also spread chaos across the region, alongside sometimes bloody conflicts between farming communities and nomadic herdsmen.
The unrest has spread to northwest Nigeria and contributed to a looming famine, which UN agencies say could see 33 million people facing “acute food insecurity” by next year.
