Indigenes of Katsina State, under the Katsina Security Community Initiative (KSCI), have urged federal and state authorities to adopt a new approach to end persistent banditry in the state. Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting on Sunday in Abuja, KSCI Coordinator Dr. Bashir Kurfi said the ongoing killings, kidnappings, and community displacements indicated that existing strategies were failing. He proposed a hybrid approach combining military action with dialogue and community-led responses.
Kurfi highlighted that more than half of Katsina’s local government areas are currently under bandit influence, leaving many community leaders unable to reside in their own towns. He warned that worsening poverty was driving youths into the ranks of armed groups. Other stakeholders, including retired generals, serving officers, academics, and traditional leaders, pledged to form a pressure group to advocate for reforms and coordinated interventions.
Local government leaders cited partial successes of community-led dialogue in curbing violence. Safana LGA Chairman Abdullahi Sani Safana reported that four weeks of relative peace followed mediation by local and religious leaders, though progress was undermined by neighbouring areas that had not adopted similar measures. Kurfi LGA Chairman Babangoda Abdullahi cautioned against collaboration with bandits, noting that some community members provide fuel, food, and intelligence, further sustaining criminal activity.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army announced plans to establish a new battalion in Malumfashi LGA to bolster operations against banditry. Senator Abdulaziz Yar’adua, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, said Katsina lawmakers had appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for additional military resources to restore peace, emphasizing the need for stronger security structures alongside community and economic interventions.
