Security Expert Urges Govs to End Negotiations with Bandits, Kidnappers

A security expert and public affairs analyst, Dr. Luqman Gidado, has called on the Federal, State and Local Governments to desist from negotiating with bandits and kidnappers, warning that such engagements have repeatedly failed to yield lasting peace.

Dr. Gidado made this known on Tuesday while featuring on the African Independent Television (AIT) morning programme, Kakaaki, where he spoke extensively on Nigeria’s security votes and the rising wave of insecurity across the country.

According to him, experience has shown that criminal groups do not honour peace deals reached with government authorities, stressing that negotiations only embolden them to make further demands.

“Whether we like it or not, they will not honour these deals in the long run,” he said, citing a recent incident in Katsina State where bandits reportedly launched fresh attacks on innocent civilians despite ongoing negotiations.

He explained that the bandits often use such talks as leverage, pointing to claims by criminal groups that they had released about 1,000 abductees and were now demanding the release of their detained members from prisons.

Dr. Gidado questioned the rationale behind releasing suspects already found culpable of serious crimes, including the killing of innocent civilians and security personnel.
“If you are arrested and all available facts show that you’ve killed innocent civilians and security agents, what are you doing in prison? Why should you be released?” he asked.

The security expert argued that Nigeria’s legal framework is weak in dealing decisively with crimes such as terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, noting that this has contributed significantly to the persistence of insecurity.

He called for urgent reforms of existing laws to ensure stricter punishment for offenders, adding that once arrested and found guilty, perpetrators should be effectively neutralised to serve as a deterrent.

“Our laws need to be galvanised to address kidnapping and related crimes. When all evidence shows that someone is guilty, the law must take its full course,” Dr. Gidado added.

He concluded by urging government at all levels to focus on strengthening the rule of law and security architecture rather than engaging in negotiations that have repeatedly proven ineffective.