Shehu Sani Criticises Peace Deal With Bandits, Says Security Forces Continue To Fail

A former Kaduna Central senator, Shehu Sani, has condemned the recent meeting held with wanted bandit kingpins and a group of armed herders to negotiate peace in Katsina State.

The ex-lawmaker said the gang leaders and bandits should be prosecuted or be “outrightly eliminated” rather than being offered a peace agreement.

On Monday September 15, reports emerged that residents of Katsina State’s Faskari Local Government Area on Sunday hosted a peace meeting with wanted bandit kingpin Ado Alero and a group of armed herders, in a bid to address the region’s worsening insecurity.

A meeting was reportedly attended by local traditional leaders and dozens of herders, many visibly carrying weapons and ammunition.

Alero, who represented the bandits during the dialogue, said the initiative was not the first of its kind in the area but described the turnout as unprecedented.

Reacting to the peace meeting in a post on his verified X account on Tuesday, Sani wrote, “They are bandits gang leaders who killed and kidnapped thousands in North West Nigeria. They raped women.

“They are supposed to be brought to justice or outrightly eliminated in the theatre of operations, but our security forces repeatedly failed.”

Sani, a long-time commentator on security issues in the north pointed out a repetition of past, unsuccessful dialogue efforts and argued that the scale of atrocities committed by bandit groups rules out negotiation.

His post singled out previous peace efforts in Katsina and Zamfara and referenced well-known mediators involved in past talks.

“Ex-Governor Masari once tried the dialogue option in Katsina, but it failed. Katsina and Zamfara bandits have records of infidelity to agreements, even with the presence of Sheikh Gumi.

“This renewed attempt will be left to be seen.The shedding of innocent blood must come to an end, by any means practicable.”