Ahmad Yerima to Tinubu: Amnesty for Bandits is a Priority

Ahmad Yerima, the former governor of Zamfara State, has urged the new President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to diligently create an avenue for dialogue with bandits to end insecurity in the North-West region of the country on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. 

Yerima advocated that the Federal Government should negotiate with “repentant” bandits. He argued that using military force would result in “collateral damage” and, therefore, should be considered a last resort.

Earlier in a BBC Hausa interview, the ex-governor had called on governors in the North-West to have a dialogue with bandits terrorising the region.

“The best way to go about handling the issue of bandits is to introduce dialogue first. But as I said, if that fails, then the government will go all out to eliminate them,” he said after a courtesy visit to the President on Monday at Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

For nearly a decade, Zamfara State, located in North-West Nigeria, has been a flashpoint of armed conflict between the military and bandits who have struggled to control mineral-rich regions of the state.

Yerima said Tinubu should consider an amnesty programme for bandits in the North, like the late President Umar Yar’Adua did for the Niger Delta militants.

“I believe that the Nigerian military has the capacity to deal with them (bandits) if so directed and given the resources, support, and political will.