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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Rebuild Arewa Initiative for Development (RAID), a key advocacy group in the north, has said weak prosecution of criminal elements lies at the heart of Northern Nigeria’s escalating insecurity.
RAID’s Director of Communications and Publicity, Bitako Umar, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja, during a briefing on activities for the 2026 Sardauna Memorial Day, where he announced plans for a major regional convention to forge solutions and shape the 2027 political direction.
He said the non-partisan convention in April will bring together Northern stakeholders, including political, traditional and religious leaders, youth and women groups, civil society organisations, professionals and business leaders, to tackle security, development and governance challenges.
The initiative aims to produce a people-driven roadmap guiding leadership choices and policy ahead of the 2027 elections, reaffirming the North’s commitment to unity and national development.
Umar pinpointed to banditry, terrorism, farmer-herder conflicts and kidnappings ravaging the region as symptoms of deeper failures. Fielding questions from journalists, Umar attributed the deepening insecurity to weak prosecution of criminal elements, poor governance and failure to effectively implement key social policies, particularly in the education sector.
He lamented a culture of impunity, noting that prosecutions rarely followed reports of past commissions of inquiry. Umar also criticised the payment of ransom to kidnappers, saying it reinforces inequality and incentivises criminality, and blamed the poor implementation of the Universal Basic Education policy for the growing number of out-of-school children, many of whom, he said, are easily recruited by extremist and criminal groups operating in the region.
Earlier, RAID’s Secretary, Kabiru Duhu, called for emulating Sir Ahmadu Bello’s leadership to combat insecurity, poverty and weak institutions. He noted that Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria from 1954 until his assassination in 1966, was widely regarded as a visionary statesman who prioritised education, unity, institutional development and moral leadership.
