Katsina Government Confirms Bandits Demand Schools, Hospitals, Grazing Reserves in Peace Talks

Katsina Government Confirms Bandits Demand Schools, Hospitals, Grazing Reserves in Peace Talks

The Katsina State Government has revealed that armed groups engaged in informal peace negotiations with local communities are demanding the construction of schools, hospitals, and grazing reserves as part of conditions for halting attacks across the state.

Commissioner for Security, Nasiru Mu’azu, disclosed this in an interview with the BBC, explaining that the demands surfaced during community-led talks with bandits in several local government areas, including Dan Musa, Jibiya, Batsari, Kankara, Kurfi, and Musawa.

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Mu’azu clarified that the initiative to dialogue with the gunmen was not driven by the government but by community leaders desperate to end years of killings, kidnappings, and cattle rustling.

“It was not the Katsina government that initiated the peace agreement with the militants – it was the community that demanded it,” Mu’azu said. “It was the village leaders who negotiated directly with the gunmen, which led to the signing of peace agreements in the affected local government areas.”

According to him, the collapse of the state’s earlier amnesty programme worsened insecurity, with attacks spreading from five LGAs between 2011 and 2015 to 25 LGAs by 2023.

The militants’ key demands include building schools, establishing hospitals, and providing support for livestock rearing—requests the government has described as unusual but part of efforts to foster dialogue.

Katsina Government

Meanwhile, a report by Nigerian security research firm Beacon Consulting revealed that between January and March 2025, Katsina recorded 247 violent incidents in which 341 people were killed and 495 kidnapped.

In response to the escalating violence, the state government in July announced a rehabilitation initiative for repentant gunmen who surrendered their arms. The programme, to be designed by the State Adult Education Agency, will provide literacy classes, vocational training, and moral reorientation through both modern and Islamic education. The aim is to reintegrate former fighters and discourage a return to violence.

Earlier this week, the Katsina State Government held a high-level security meeting where Commissioner Mu’azu briefed stakeholders on the latest peace efforts. He confirmed that the government is considering meeting some of the bandits’ demands as part of a broader strategy to restore calm and rebuild trust between affected communities and security forces.

For now, Katsina remains at the crossroads of dialogue and violence, as authorities weigh the risks and opportunities of negotiating with armed groups while struggling to contain worsening insecurity.