Negotiation With Turji, Other Armed Bandits Dangerous, Security Expert Warns Sokoto Gov’t

A security expert, Basharu Altine Guyawa, has warned the Sokoto State Government over its recent announcement that it’s willing to negotiate with armed bandits, pointing out that such a strategy could embolden criminal elements and undermine the sacrifices made by security forces across the region.

Guyawa, who’s also a security researcher on banditry in the Northwest with over 12 years of experience, and provides key training and information to the government on security matters, warned that the state’s openness to dialogue sends a dangerous signal to violent groups.

The Chairman of the Movement for Justice, Sokoto branch, was reacting to a statement released on Wednesday by the Special Adviser on Security to Governor Ahmed Aliyu, Col. Ahmed Usman (rtd), who announced the state’s readiness for peace talks with bandits willing to surrender, Guyawa stressed that negotiation should not replace decisive security action.

The security expert told THE WHISTLER on Thursday, “Negotiating with criminals who have killed, burned, kidnapped, and displaced thousands is not a viable solution. It sends the wrong message that violence pays. These are not aggrieved citizens, they are armed terrorists.”

He added that all previous negotiations with bandits in Zamfara, Katsina and other states did not produce positive outcomes, stressing that Sokoto would not be an exception.

According to him, the government has committed “billions of naira” into security operations, intelligence gathering, logistics support, and community-based interventions, yet attacks persist in many rural parts of Sokoto and neighbouring states.

“Despite the massive security spending by state governments, our people are still being killed in their farms and villages. What has negotiation achieved in Zamfara or Katsina? These groups keep regrouping because there’s no firm stance,” he noted.

His reaction comes just hours after the Sokoto State Government reiterated its openness to dialogue as a pathway to peace, stating that “many historical conflicts have not ended solely through the use of force.”

However, security experts and stakeholders argue that such an approach may overlook the complex dynamics of banditry in the North-West, where criminal gangs often use negotiations as a ploy to regroup or buy time.

Guyawa on his part warned that introducing dialogue without justice or disarmament mechanisms could erode public confidence in the government’s ability to protect its people.

“We are not against peace, but there must be accountability. Let us not forget that behind every call for dialogue are families mourning their dead, farmers driven from their land, and communities living in fear,” he further told THE WHISTLER.

He provided further arguments to validate his opposition explaining, “When it is the government that initiates dialogue, it shows the bandits are not under pressure, they are not desperate.

“We are dealing with hardened criminals like Bello Turji, who still roam with dozens of fighters and weapons. Tell me, who has the capacity or political will to seize weapons from Turji or bring him to justice?”

He further highlighted how banditry has severely disrupted farming in the Northwestern states, noting that levies imposed on farmers by armed groups have forced many to flee their communities.

“In Sokoto East alone, more than 55 villages have been evacuated because they cannot afford the tax enforced on them by bandits,” he added.

Negotiation With Turji, Other Armed Bandits Dangerous, Security Expert Warns Sokoto Gov’t is first published on The Whistler Newspaper