Rising public concern after Zamfara, Katsina officials met with notorious bandits

Public concern has continued to rise following the recent meeting between notorious bandit leaders and officials of Zamfara and Katsina States.

On Saturday, June 14, 2025, traditional rulers, local government officials, representatives of the Nigerian Army, and top officials from the North-West states attended the meeting held in the Bichi community, Danmusa LGA of Katsina.

In widely circulated video footage of the meeting, Ado Aleru, a notorious bandit with a N5 million bounty on his head, was seen addressing the gathering, urging for peaceful coexistence between Fulani herders and farming communities.

Aleru has been linked to countless acts of terror and bloodshed in the north-west, with human rights organisations accusing him of orchestrating mass killings, mass kidnappings, and the displacement of thousands.

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Therefore, his appearance, not in handcuffs but at the centre of state-sanctioned negotiations, has sparked nationwide outrage.

The images have triggered concerns and condemnations from the public, including civil society groups.

Reacting to the development, a civic group, the Citizens for Equity and Justice Initiative (CEJI), condemned the governors of Zamfara (Duada Lawal) and Katsina (Dikko Umar Radda) over the widely criticised peace meeting.

CEJI, in a statement by its president, Dr Abdulmumin Sarki, on Friday, June 20, 2025, accused governors Radda and Lawal of hypocrisy and political cowardice.

The group noted that the presence of state officials and security personnel at a meeting where Aleru was not only welcomed but offered a platform to speak was a complete betrayal of the Nigerian people and an affront to every citizen who has lost a loved one to bandit violence.

“These are the same governors who, while campaigning, condemned so-called peace deals with blood-stained warlords,” Sarki said.

“Now in power, they are doing precisely what they once derided — normalising criminals as stakeholders in the governance process, even as tens of thousands of citizens remain unaccounted for due to the very violence these men unleashed.”

Group fumes over government's 'parley' with bandits

Referencing a 2023 report by Amnesty International, CEJI described the peace parley as a “moral collapse of governance.”

It noted that the report estimated that more than 10,000 Nigerians have been killed and tens of thousands more displaced in the past two years alone as a result of banditry and communal violence in the northwest.

“You do not negotiate with terrorists in the open, not when the blood of their victims is still drying, not when they remain armed, wanted, and unrepentant. It is a dangerous precedent that delegitimises state authority and emboldens violent actors,” Sarki added.

Governor Lawal of Zamfara had, in August 2023, publicly ruled out dialogue with bandits, describing such moves as “a failed strategy that has only given criminals more time to regroup and rearm.”

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Similarly, Governor Radda had dismissed earlier peace talks under his predecessor as “a misguided approach that rewarded impunity.”

The group said both governors must be held accountable for clearly contradicting their policy positions and exposing the public to more insecurity.

“The Nigerian state cannot simultaneously claim to be fighting insecurity while its chief executives are sharing stages with those they should be arresting. This is a contradiction that weakens the rule of law and puts lives at risk,” Sarki said.