Armed bandits in Nigeria’s restive Katsina State accused the government of orchestrating their descent into terror on Saturday, before pledging an abrupt end to kidnappings and raids as part of a fragile community-brokered peace deal.
The dramatic turnaround came during a tense gathering in the state’s northwest, where local leaders from Charanchi and Batagarawa districts inked an agreement with the outlaw group, aiming to halt months of deadly ambushes that have plagued herders and farmers alike.
One bandit commander, speaking candidly to assembled residents under heavy security, laid bare a narrative of state complicity in the bloodshed, framing the insurgents not as rogue actors but as pawns in a larger political game.
“It was the government that wanted us to engage in banditry, but now it has called us and told us to stop. Therefore, by God’s grace, we have stopped from today,” the masked figure declared, his voice carrying over the crowd.
He reiterated the vow moments later, adding, “By God’s grace, we have stopped from today,” signalling an immediate ceasefire that could spare lives in a region scarred by over 200 abductions this year alone.
The bandits’ representative didn’t mince words on the origins of their fury, urging locals to redirect their grievances: “You oppressed citizens — if you want to cry, don’t cry with us, the ‘terrorists,’ but cry with your government, for they are the ones who made us do what we have been doing.”
The group further asserted that peace hinges on federal resolve, warning: “If they want us to keep striking and attacking, we will. But if they want peace, we will also make it happen.”
“We don’t have the power or wisdom to bring peace to the country except through the Nigerian government, because everything is under their control,” he continued, echoing frustrations over stalled talks that dragged on for two months due to the bandits’ elusive forest hideouts.
The accord, facilitated by traditional rulers and council heads amid soaring insecurity, marks the latest bid to tame banditry in Katsina — a hotspot where rivalries over grazing lands have fuelled a cycle of vengeance since 2019.
Scepticism lingers among residents, however, with critics decrying past pacts as short-lived amid accusations that authorities exploit the chaos for gain. The government has yet to comment officially, but the deal arrives as President Bola Tinubu’s administration ramps up military sweeps in the northwest.
If upheld, the truce could ease pressure on displaced communities and bolster fragile food security, though analysts caution that without addressing root causes like poverty and ethnic tensions, the guns may soon roar anew.
