Bandits exploit security gaps, recruit jobless youths – NSA Ribadu

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) has identified intelligence gaps, porous borders, illicit arms trafficking and the recruitment of vulnerable youths as major factors sustaining banditry in the country, calling for stronger community participation and coordinated security operations to defeat the criminals.

The NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, represented by the Director of Legal Services in his office, Barrister Zakari Usman Mijinyawa, made the position known in a keynote address at a brainstorming session on coping with banditry, organised by the Sokoto Advancement Forum in collaboration with the Centre for Peace Studies, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, on Saturday.

The forum brought together security officials, traditional rulers, academics, government representatives and civil society groups to develop practical solutions to the persistent insecurity affecting communities across the state.

Ribadu said banditry had evolved beyond cattle rustling, highway robbery and kidnapping to include territorial control, unlawful taxation of rural communities and disruption of economic activities.

He said the emergence of Lakurawa, which the Federal Government has designated as a terrorist organisation, underscored the growing connection between local criminal activities and transnational extremist networks operating across the Sahel.

“Sokoto’s proximity to the Republic of Niger and the wider Sahel adds a significant cross-border dimension to this challenge,” he said.

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“We must therefore combine intelligence-led operations, effective border management, regional cooperation and sustained action against the supply of illicit weapons and other logistical support.”

The NSA stressed that military operations alone would not deliver sustainable peace without effective intelligence gathering, public trust, economic recovery and the restoration of government presence in communities liberated from armed groups.

He said security agencies must also distinguish hardened criminals from vulnerable individuals susceptible to recruitment, while ensuring that any rehabilitation or reintegration programme complied with Nigerian law and did not undermine justice for victims.

In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Sokoto Advancement Forum, Prof. Muhammad Ahmad Wali, said the scale of insecurity required urgent action, warning that banditry was threatening the lives, livelihoods, education and economic activities of residents.

Wali, a former senior officer in the Security Division of the Cabinet Office in Sokoto, said the state had enjoyed relative peace in the 1980s and 1990s, allowing agriculture, trade and education to flourish.

He lamented that the situation had deteriorated, with attacks and abductions forcing families from their homes and keeping farmers away from their fields.

“Today, the picture is painfully different. Banditry, kidnapping and attacks on farming villages have driven families from their homes, and now threaten our lives, our livelihoods, our children’s education, our trade and the authority of government itself,” he said.

Wali disclosed that attacks had been recorded in 21 of Sokoto’s 23 local government areas, citing figures indicating that more than 1,100 people were kidnapped in the state in the 12 months leading to June 2026.

He also recalled the killing of the Emir of Gobir in 2024 as an example of the threat posed by armed groups to traditional institutions and community leadership.

According to him, the persistence of attacks despite ongoing military operations and other interventions demonstrates that no single government, security agency or organisation can resolve the crisis independently.

“A problem this big cannot be solved by soldiers alone. But it cannot be solved without them either,” Wali said.

He called for a comprehensive approach combining intelligence-led operations, border security, swift justice, community participation, youth employment and accountable governance.

The SAF chairman said the forum was established to complement government efforts by providing evidence-based recommendations and fostering cooperation among stakeholders rather than merely criticising authorities.

He disclosed that the organisation had developed a five-year development plan for Sokoto State and identified the Almajiri phenomenon, youth drug abuse and banditry as three pressing challenges requiring coordinated responses.

According to him, the forum had already organised discussions on the first two issues and submitted recommendations to the government.

Wali urged participants to ensure that Saturday’s deliberations produced concrete commitments, including timelines, responsible institutions and mechanisms for monitoring implementation.

“By the end of today, we should have clear decisions: who will do what, when, and how we will check that it has been done,” he said.

He added that the forum would compile the recommendations into a report and communiqué, while a follow-up committee would present them to government authorities, security agencies and affected communities.

In his keynote address, Ribadu outlined five priority areas for tackling insecurity: denying criminal groups safe havens, strengthening intelligence and early warning, building community trust, restoring agriculture and rural livelihoods, and preventing the recruitment of young people into armed groups.

He said security agencies needed to improve information-sharing and establish effective reporting channels linking communities with local authorities and security personnel.

He specifically identified Sabon Birni, Isa, Tangaza and Goronyo as areas where early-warning arrangements should ensure that reports from vulnerable communities reach the appropriate authorities promptly.

“Timely intelligence saves lives when it reaches the right authorities and triggers an effective response,” he said.

He added that communities providing credible information must have confidence that authorities would act on it, while security agencies must protect sensitive operational details.

Ribadu also emphasised the importance of protecting farms, markets, schools, health facilities and rural transport routes, arguing that security should be measured by improvements in people’s daily lives rather than operational statistics alone.

“We must measure progress by more than arrests, weapons recovered or territory cleared,” he said.

“Success must also mean safer communities, returning families, productive farms, reopened schools, functioning markets and the restoration of public confidence.”

The NSA commended ongoing security efforts, including Operation FANSAN YAMMA, and called for stronger coordination among the military, police, intelligence services, civil defence personnel and other authorised security actors.

He said community-based security personnel could complement conventional forces through local knowledge and surveillance, provided they operated within the law and were subjected to appropriate training, supervision and accountability.

Ribadu also highlighted the need to disrupt arms-trafficking networks supplying weapons to criminal groups.

He cited figures reported by the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, indicating that 5,449 firearms had been recovered and 1,419 illicit weapons destroyed during recent nationwide operations.

He said cumulative weapons destruction since 2022 had exceeded 19,000.

The NSA further stressed that security operations must be followed by sustained government presence in recovered communities to prevent armed groups from returning.

On rehabilitation, he said individuals eligible for lawful disengagement should be given opportunities to return to productive lives, while hardened criminals must face the law.

“Reintegration must never replace justice or reward violence,” he said.

Earlier, the Vice Chairman of the Sokoto Advancement Forum, Prof. Riskuwa Arabu Shehu, said the gathering was convened to provide a non-partisan platform for stakeholders to develop additional solutions to insecurity in Sokoto and other parts of the country.

Shehu said the humanitarian consequences of banditry extended beyond killings and abductions to include displacement, abandoned farms, closed schools, disrupted healthcare and worsening food insecurity.

Citing figures attributed to SBM Intelligence, he said a 12-month study covering July 2024 to June 2025 documented at least 4,722 people abducted in 997 kidnapping incidents nationwide, with at least 762 people killed.

He said the North-West accounted for more than 60 per cent of reported kidnapping incidents during the period, while Sokoto recorded 358 abductions.

Shehu also cited conflict-monitoring data indicating that security incidents had occurred in 21 of Sokoto’s 23 local government areas between January 2024 and August 2025.

He warned that the emergence of armed groups with cross-border connections had made it increasingly difficult to address insecurity through military force alone.

Shehu called on participants to avoid ethnic and religious profiling in their discussions, stressing that criminality should not be attributed to entire communities.

The forum, he said, would provide an opportunity for stakeholders to propose practical interventions, strengthen cooperation and support the search for lasting peace.

He expressed the hope that the recommendations would help build a safer Sokoto State where residents could farm, trade, attend school and go about their daily activities without fear.