Deadly bandits granted amnesty in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria

A Nigerian Governor, Uba Sani, has pardoned the first set of “repentant” Boko Haram members, who had been terrorising the northern region.

Their attacks led to the multiple killings, kidnappings and robbery, as well as closure of the famous cattle market in Birnin Gwari for about 10 years.

The governor, speaking at the event on Thursday, reaffirmed his commitment to fairness and justice. “I will be fair to everyone, be they farmers, herders and traders, in order to achieve lasting peace and development,” he said.

The governor highlighted that several senior bandit leaders had embraced peace through extensive dialogue and meetings.

“Through numerous meetings and extensive discussions, we have built bridges of trust. Several senior bandit leaders had laid their arms and embraced peace, along with their followers,” he added.

According to him, the repentant bandits are now part of a rehabilitation programme developed by his government in collaboration with the federal government, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.

‘’This programme adheres to international standards of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, ensuring that these individuals can return to society as productive citizens,’’ he stated.

The governor warned that while his government welcomes those seeking peace, it would act decisively against any continued violence.

“The security, law enforcement and intelligence agencies have already achieved significant results, neutralising bandits’ kingpins, dismantling criminal networks and rescuing kidnapped victims,” he stressed.

He announced the development of a ‘Kaduna Model,’ aimed at creating a sustainable framework for peace and security.

Sani also encouraged dialogue as a foundation for resolving disputes, urging others to lay down their arms.

“To the bandits who have yet to embrace peace, I urge you to reconsider. Enough is enough,” he said.

“The days of kidnapping, cattle rustling, force levies and other criminal activities are over.”

The governor assured support for those willing to change. “Those who genuinely seek to change will find a government ready to support them, protect them and help them rebuild their lives,” he concluded.

Tiv Youths under the umbrella of its apex socio-cultural organization, Tiv Youth Organisation has condemned recent calls for amnesty for bandits, terrorists and armed herdsmen from certain quarters.

Campaign against amnesty for bandits

Many in Nigeria have discouraged amnesty for bandits.

Prominent Nigerian elder statesman and Ijaw leader, Chief Edwin Clark, has also waded into the debate.

He has condemned the calls to grant amnesty to bandits responsible for the insecurity in the north.

According to Clark, the calls to grant amnesty to bandits in the north are irritating, obnoxious and illogical.

He added that those who compared the agitations in the Niger Delta, with the killings in the northern part of the country, were “ignorant and myopic”.

Clark, who made the statement at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, said pleas by Islamic cleric, Ahmad Gumi, for amnesty for the bandits “defies logic”.

He said the amnesty programme was not a blanket idea to be invoked or politicised for rewarding mass murderers.

“Ahmad Gumi, an Islamic cleric, has repeatedly pleaded for amnesty for the bandits. He constantly defies logic by claiming that the bandits kill because of their ‘maltreatment’ by the Nigerian state.

“I must commend the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), for their forthrightness in condemning the advice of Ahmed Yerima to President Bola Tinubu in which he said the president should grant amnesty to the murderous bandits.

“The amnesty advocates ignore the fact that many of the bandits are not even Nigerians. They also mistake amnesty for a blanket idea, to be politicised or invoked to reward mass murderers. It is not.

“Amnesty worked in the Niger Delta primarily because its militants anchored their fight on the sound economic and federalist principle of resource control.

“With their people alienated from the oil wealth extracted from their land, and the environmental despoliation in the region, the agitators had legitimate demands.

“But the blood-thirsty bandits ravaging the North have no legitimate, political, or economic claim that Nigeria is obliged to countenance.”

Clark also said statements by the newly appointed Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagabaja, calling for a scrap of the programme was regrettable.

He noted that the programme had succeeded in bringing peace to the Niger Delta and stopping the vandalisation of oil pipelines and oil platforms.

He, therefore, called on President Bola Tinubu to ignore the advice of “misinformed Nigerians”, who claimed that the programme had not contributed to the peace of the Niger Delta, while also asking the President to pay special attention to the survival of the programme.

“I strongly, therefore, appeal to Mr President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, not to be carried away by various statements by some uninformed Nigerians that the Amnesty Programme in Niger Delta has not contributed to the peace in the Niger Delta, it has, contrary to their misgivings.

“I therefore advise the President to pay special attention to the survival of the Amnesty Programme in the Niger Delta which still has some phases, and the word “Interim” should be removed from the “Administrator” because the impression being given by our people is that the interim is there because the Federal Government wants to scrap the Programme.

“Meanwhile, I sincerely appeal to our youths to remain patient and not to do anything to affect the smooth operation of the oil companies while we continue to fight for our rights legitimately.”

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