Niger State Governor, Sani Bello, has said his government will no longer dialogue with armed bandits.
This was made known in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mary Noel-Berje.
The governor made this public when he met with members of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) at Kasuwan Garba in Mariga Local Government Area of the state while noting that his government would rehabilitate and reintegrate into society, bandits who have genuinely repented.
The statement noted that the governor met with vigilante group to boost their morale.
“I am here to thank the vigilantes, boost their moral and to offer more support from the state government so that they can continue to support the police and other security agencies in the fight against bandits and other criminal tendencies,” Noel-Berje quoted the governor to have said.
He said any bandit that surrenders his weapons and repents would be forgiven, and provided with a means of livelihood which would not necessarily include any cash backing.
Speaking on why the government is no longer considering negotiations with the bandits, Bello stated that it has been found out from experience that the “repentant bandits”, after collecting cash from the dialogue option, purchase more weapons and return to their old ways of banditry.
Meanwhile, the governor assured members of the vigilante group that his administration is working on compensation for the families of those that paid the ultimate price in the course of fighting bandits.
“We are not going to disband vigilante because, even when banditry stops, the vigilante will remain to form a kind of security within the community,” he said.
In his remarks, the Commissioner for Local Government, Chieftaincy Affairs and Community Development, Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji said the vigilantes have been working in synergy with security agencies.
Barrister Sarkin Daji added that vigilantes have been able to secure back about 20 villages that were ousted by bandits adding that all villagers have returned to their ancestral homes.
Banditry has been a major concern in Northern Nigeria, especially Niger State. It would be recalled that last month, gunmen abducted some students and staff of Government Science Secondary school in Kagara before they were later released.
Some of the governors in the region have indicated readiness to enter into peace talks with the bandits but Governors El-Rufai of Kaduna and Bello Masari of Katsina have said they won’t dialogue with them.
While El-Rufai said any bandit caught in his state would be killed, Masari said experience noted that experience has taught him that bandits don’t repent.
