Negotiating with bandits without disarmament fuels insecurity

By Lawrence Agbo

A security analyst and Chief Executive Officer of Beacon Security and Intelligence Limited, Dr. Kabir Adamu, has warned that negotiations with bandits could worsen insecurity if they are not accompanied by the disarmament of armed groups.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE NEWS, Adamu said dialogue can be a useful conflict-resolution tool, but only when it follows established frameworks such as the United Nations’ Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) model.

According to him, some peace arrangements reached between communities and bandit groups in parts of northern Nigeria have failed to address the critical issue of weapons recovery.

“At the point where it is mishandled. I mean, the best sort of approach for dialoguing is the UN DDR approach: Demobilization, Deradicalization, and Rehabilitation,” he said.

Adamu argued that allowing bandits to retain their weapons after entering into peace agreements creates conditions for future insecurity and encourages further militarisation.

“You cannot, for instance, demobilize without retrieving the weapons of the enemy,” he stated.

The security expert cited experiences in parts of Katsina State, where peace pacts reportedly involved some level of demobilisation but did not result in the surrender of weapons by criminal groups.

“What we’ve seen in Katsina is some element of demobilization without retrieving the weapons of the bad guys. And that in itself is another avenue for encouraging militarization,” he said.

He noted that in some cases, bandit groups have continued criminal activities despite entering into agreements with communities, while others have simply relocated their operations to neighbouring states.

“We’ve seen instances where these criminals have become authorities on their own. We’ve also seen a dislocation of the crime. We’ve seen them moving from Katsina into parts of Kano State,” Adamu said.

He urged authorities to adopt a more structured approach to negotiations, warning that poorly managed peace deals could create larger security challenges rather than lasting solutions.

“And if you do it wrongly, you create bigger challenges,” he warned