By Dalena Reporters | November 9, 2025
In a controversial development in north-western Nigeria, a group of armed men popularly known as bandits have bluntly accused the federal government of engineering their criminal activities before turning to broker peace with them. The declaration came during a peace meeting held in the Charanchi and Batagarawa Local Government Areas of Katsina State.
Council chairmen and community elders from Charanchi and Batagarawa attended the Saturday ceremony where the armed group signed a peace accord with local authorities and residents. According to the bandit representatives, the truce is effective from that day forward — but not without a pointed indictment of governmental complicity.
During the gathering, a spokesperson for the group stated:
“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.”
He further added:
“If the government wants all this insecurity to end, they have the power to end it — but they don’t want it to end… Despite people saying that we are attacking, it is the government that made us do it.
The Core Allegation
The bandits claim that they were initially mobilised — whether through direct or indirect influence — to undertake violence and kidnapping. According to one participant:
“If they don’t want us to attack or kidnap people, they can stop it. However, today, they were the ones who called us… 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.
This disclosure complicates the narrative of the security crisis in Katsina and the wider North-West region of Nigeria. Historically, banditry has been framed as purely criminal and non-political. The claim by these armed actors that they were “turned” into terrorists by the government introduces questions about the accountability of state actors, the clarity of peace-making initiatives, and the role of informal and formal security negotiations.
Security analysts have previously warned that so-called peace deals with bandits often lack transparency, genuine disarmament, assurances of justice, or inclusion of victims—thereby risking undermining rule of law and state legitimacy.
While the pact has been signed, scepticism remains high. Observers will be watching for:
- Whether weapons will be surrendered and bandits will be genuinely reintegrated or disarmed.
- The role and oversight of state security agencies, given claims of previous neglect or collusion.
- Whether victims of bandit attacks are included in the process and their rights preserved.
- Possible message effects: will other armed groups view this as precedent to negotiate or to legitimize themselves?
Until the government publicly addresses the allegation of its involvement in promoting banditry or otherwise seeking operational control over these groups, the peace deal may be perceived as conditional, fragile, and subject to reversal.
Dalena Reporters — Security & Governance Desk
On-site monitoring of evolving security dynamics and peace negotiations in Nigeria’s conflict zones.