Can Masari’s Call for Self-help Curb Banditry in Katsina?

After his amnesty programme for repentant bandits collapsed twice, Katsina State Governor, Mr. Aminu Bello Masari, has advised the residents of the state to rise up and defend themselves against bandits. Ejiofor Alike reports that insecurity may worsen in the state if the residents are allowed to bear arms as suggested by the governor

Former Nigeria’s Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd), had earlier this year raised the alarm over the proliferation of weapons, which he estimated at six million.

He cited Boko Haram insurgency, banditry, kidnapping, increasing poverty, and the calls for the balkanisation of the country from different quarters, as some of the factors fuelling proliferation of weapons in the country.

Abubakar, who is also the Chairman of the National Peace Committee (NPC), had painted the grim picture of affairs in the country at a dialogue session of the committee with key stakeholders in Abuja.

Abdulsalami reportedly said: “The proliferation of all calibre of weapons not only in our sub-region in general and in Nigeria in particular is worrying. It is estimated that there are over six million of such weapons in circulation in the country. This certainly exacerbated the insecurity that led to over 80,000 deaths and close to three million internally displaced persons.”

With the circulation of such number of light weapons, which has fuelled insecurity, it was surprising that Katsina State governor, Mr. Bello Masari would advise the residents of the state to procure arms and defend themselves against bandits.

The Katsina State governor on Tuesday reportedly approved a resort to self-help and asked his people to acquire weapons in defence against terror and banditry.

Masari, according to a statement issued by his Director-General on Media, Mr. Abdu Labaran Malumfashi, argued that it was morally wrong for people to submit meekly to the bandits without any attempt to defend themselves, insisting that security was everybody’s business.

According to him, it was the people’s meek submission that emboldened the bandits to continue with their heinous activities with murderous frequency.

Masari was no doubt, frustrated by the unceasing reign of terror and banditry in his state after the collapse of the amnesty programme he instituted twice for the repentant bandits.

The governor had in June 2020, vowed never to grant amnesty to bandits again, saying his government was betrayed on two occasions by bandits after they were granted a pardon.

He complained that the bandits always violated the peace deals, and that his government had been betrayed twice.

In an interview granted the BBC Hausa, the governor lamented that some bandits, who had accepted amnesty betrayed his government and became enemies of the state, and were among those fuelling insecurity in the state.

He said his government in 2016, initiated an Amnesty Programme for bandits and that the programme was initially successful until some of the bandits reneged on the agreement and went back to carrying out their evil activities.

But five months after he swore never to grant amnesty to bandits again, the governor on November 4, 2020, granted amnesty to two bandits – a 30-year-old Sale Turwa and 33-year-old Muhammed Sani Maidaji.

The two surrendered 10 AK-47 rifles to the governor during a meeting attended by heads of security agencies in the state, including the police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The state Commissioner of Police (CP) Sanusi Buba, told Masari that the security chiefs believed it was in the state’s interest to accept the bandits’ remorse and forgive them, so as to encourage other bandits to do the same.

In his response, Masari said he would no longer negotiate with the bandits but would be willing to listen to those that voluntarily seek peace.

He said, “I have instructed the security operatives to deal ruthlessly with the bandits until they are rendered permanently ineffective. We are no more going to negotiate with them, but if on their volition they decide to renounce their violent criminal ways and embrace peace, we are ready to listen to them.”

The Secretary to the State Government, Mustapha Inuwa, had revealed that the state government spent N30 million on the last failed amnesty programme.

According to him, the funds were used to buy the surrendered weapons from repentant bandits.

When a prominent Islamic cleric, Shekh Ahmad Gumi, began his campaign for amnesty for the bandits, the Katsina State governor opposed him, insisting that even animals killed deserve justice much less human beings. He told Gumi that the bandits killing Nigerians in the north do not deserve amnesty.

The Katsina State governor had in an interview with THISDAY, stated that the bandits betrayed the state government after previous attempts to grant them amnesty.

“Amnesty for who? Look, Gumi is doing it in 2021, we did it in 2016. At least there is something to learn from us.

“When we started the dialogue in 2016, 95 per cent of the herders living in the forest were not criminals but what is the situation today? Majority of the herders living in the forest today are bandits.

“Gumi should have been preaching to them on the fear of God; to understand the implications of killing somebody but certainly not amnesty because even animals are not allowed to be killed unjustly let alone human beings. He should also let the bandits know the value of their own religion.”

The governor had last week told the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya, that the state was under severe attacks by bandits and kidnappers, a situation he said had left 10 out of the 34 local government areas of the state vulnerable.

However, with the collapse of the amnesty programme and the apparent inability of the security forces to curb banditry, encouraging the people to bear arms is not the best option as it will only fuel proliferation of small arms and worsen the insecurity in the state.