Nigerian Government Turned Us To Terrorists — Bandits Say During Fresh ‘Peace Deal’ In Katsina

Community leaders and council chairmen from Charanchi and Batagarawa Local Government Areas in Katsina State on Saturday signed a peace agreement with a group of armed men otherwise known as bandits.

At the meeting, one of the armed men addressed residents directly, alleging that government policies and actions were responsible for the rise of banditry and insecurity across the North.

“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,” said one of the bandits during the peace meeting between Batagarawa and Charanchi held on Saturday.

“If the government wants all this insecurity to end, they have the power to end it — but they don’t want it to end. For the past two months, we have been trying to initiate a peace talk, but we were unable to because they didn’t know where we were hiding.

“But when they finally decided to meet us, they were able to find and talk to us today. Peaceful coexistence and the end of insecurity depend on the Nigerian leaders. 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. Despite people saying that we are attacking, it is the government that made us do it.

“If they don’t want us to attack or kidnap people, they can stop it. However, today, they were the ones who called us, and by God’s grace, we have stopped from today. 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,” he added.

The so-called peace deal comes amid rising anger nationwide over repeated amnesty initiatives with armed groups. Critics argue that such deals reward violence while victims of kidnappings and attacks remain abandoned.

Gumi’s Remarks on Bandits

This development follows recent remarks by Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, a Kaduna-based cleric who defended bandits terrorising northern Nigeria, describing them as being on “revenge missions” rather than committing “unprovoked violence.”

Gumi made the statement during an interview with Trust TV on Friday, monitored by SaharaReporters.

“The former governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, went into the bush and met more than 5,000 bandits. They are all complaining — those who have lost their parents, brothers, and properties,” Gumi said.

While admitting that the killings were “wrong and obnoxious,” he argued that many attackers were motivated by vengeance and injustice rather than pure malice.

Gumi, who has long advocated dialogue and rehabilitation for bandits, insisted that Fulani herdsmen had lived peacefully with other Nigerians for centuries, and that the violence was a reaction to systemic marginalization.

He urged the Tinubu administration to focus on unifying and rehabilitating armed groups instead of relying solely on military operations.

Public Reactions

The comments sparked outrage across social media. Many Nigerians condemned both the government’s negotiation efforts and Gumi’s remarks, insisting that the armed groups should be treated as terrorists, not forgiven criminals.

Some accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government of enabling insecurity to destabilize the country for political purposes, while others argued that the problem predates the Tinubu administration.

Several commentators expressed anger that security agencies were present at the peace meeting but made no arrests, calling it proof of government complicity.

“Policemen, DSS, soldiers and civil defence were there. No arrest or killing of terrorists. Yet they want us to believe government is not complacent,” one commenter said.

Others lamented that peace talks with killers only embolden them, while innocent Nigerians continue to suffer.