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As the insecurity continues to escalate across the country, especially in the North, some leaders of the region are asking for amnesty for the bandits who are responsible for the killings, kidnappings and other criminal activities, as a way of halting the insecurity.
In this report, some Nigerians are opposed to the idea, stressing that amnesty shouldn’t be granted to them.
It’s not a good precedence – Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, PG, Ochetoha K’Idoma, Makurdi
Seriously, this is one thing I found very embarrassing to talk about. Yes, state governments have been found to give amnesty to criminals. It’s not a new thing. But these ones, they have not even surrendered. They have not repented and have not taken ownership of the crimes they have committed or they are committing, and then you are trying to pose and provide a political situation to a purely criminal matter. I don’t think it’s a good precedence.
Because, it simply tells the rest of the populace that if you can sustain any criminal activities and then politicise it, then it becomes something that you can get away with. That is not good for any nation at all.
They must pay for their wrongs – Manz Denga, financial expert; Makurdi
That cannot be. If a guy has done wrong, he needs to pay for the wrong he has done. A guy has done wrong, but he does not want to pay for that wrong because you are saying he should be forgiven, no. He ought to pay for the wrong he has done. If not, why would you be talking of IPOB or ESN, or Niger Delta? People have done wrong; they must pay for their wrongs before you start shouting amnesty. That is what I think.
They don’t deserve mercy – David West, CLO chairman; Yenagoa
For me, there is no reason to give amnesty to miscreants, criminals, and charlatans. These are people who have no heart or conscience. They don’t deserve mercy. There should be no consideration of amnesty for them. Bandits are bandits, and they are criminals. These are people who have taken human lives. No amount of remorsefulness will erase the lacerations of the people they have put in perpetual sorrow. On no account must anyone talk or plead for amnesty for such criminals.
The position of the law is clear that, if you are indicted for any form of murder, death is the penalty. Bandits arrested should be tried properly and sentenced to death. There should be no form of negotiation with bandits or insurgents. Granting them amnesty would make no sense; they would come back again and perpetrate the act they are known for once they go broke. The government should flush them out in line with its constitutional mandate to protect the lives of Nigerian citizens.
There’s no justification for their amnesty – Alagoa Morris, Director, EDEN; Yenagoa
Former Nigerian Presidents like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and the international community acknowledged the just cause which the Niger Delta people pursued up to arms struggle and eventually amnesty was offered with promises to correct the observed injustices.
Now, what is the justification for the criminal activities of the bandits in the North; that they kidnap, rape and murder fellow citizens, including police and the military? Like I observed few years ago, a time might eventually come when criminals like armed robbers will demand amnesty. Sadly, that is what some people in the North are shamelessly demanding for the terrorists today. It is most unfortunate.
It is sad that parts of Nigeria always envy the people of the Niger Delta and go about it avariciously. Following the Willinks Commission Report before independence that the Niger Delta should be given special attention in terms of its difficult terrain and material poverty occasioned by neglect, the Niger Delta Basin Development Authority (NDBDA) was established. Because of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), others started pushing for Development Commission for their regions again.
Presently, all regions have Development Commission. Sadly, following the Presidential Amnesty Programme for former agitators of the Niger Delta, some sections of the country, especially the North sailed on the mission of kidnapping and murdering fellow citizens with the hope of getting amnesty? Those who sponsored them must have been targeting to benefit from such amnesty if granted.
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Bandits don’t deserve amnesty – Edosa Okunbo, journalist; Benin
Bandits do not deserve amnesty. In fact, anytime they are arrested, I do not even subscribe to the idea of taking them to the court. They should be executed summarily because it’s a crime against the country. It amounts to treasonable felony. What are they asking for? What is their grudge? Who are they? What have they contributed to the economy of Nigeria? Why do they want to pull down this country? Even if they are being sponsored by foreign mercenaries, will they not think that their families live here?
They should not be granted amnesty. When you talk about amnesty for Niger, Delta, militant, yes, we know what they were fighting for. The oil, the resources of this country come from that region. And here the place was underdeveloped. All they did was to ask for the areas to be developed. They didn’t take up arms against the citizens. Instead, they were breaking petroleum pipelines just as a sign of protest. And so it’s different. They should not compare amnesty for Niger Delta militants with amnesty for bandits. It’s completely different issues and that’s my stand.
Amnesty for bandits? No way! – Bright Oniovokukor, medical practitioner; Benin
Talking about amnesty, it is actually granted to a person or people who may have been seen to have been involved in some criminal activities. So, amnesty is a way of forgiving them.
Looking at the bandits as the case may be, first we need to establish the definition of ‘bandit’ in the Nigeria context. Bandits have been involved in killings, murder of people, destruction of lives and property and so many other things. Before we talk about amnesty for them, there should be some form of convictions. There should be some form of trials before you grant them.
So, having to grant a set of people whom you don’t even know their identities, you don’t know where they are, they have not even accepted that what they were doing were either bad or criminally inclined. So, granting them amnesty is a no-no for us because we don’t even know them. And what becomes of the people who they have destroyed their families, who they have destroyed their property? Who they have done a whole lot of things to, who they have even displaced from their place of abode?
It will worsen security situation in Nigeria – Chief Uche Esobe, public affairs analyst; Aba
I really wouldn’t know where to place this. So, these same Northern leaders who want the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu killed for agitating for Biafra with his mouth, are calling for amnesty for bandits in the North who have committed so many atrocities including abduction, killing and maiming of Nigerians? Reports have it that some of the bandits earlier given amnesty and integrated into the military are the ones making it difficult to crush the bandits. So, granting the bandits amnesty as being canvassed by some Northern leaders will worsen the security situation in the country.
Nobody should listen t such call – Ebere Uzoatu, legal practitioner; Aba
The call by some Northern leaders to grant bandits amnesty as a way of arresting insecurity in the Northwest, should not be heeded because it will not serve the country any useful purpose. The call was not made in good faith and no government that wants the best for her people should listen to such advise. Nnamdi Kanu has been jailed for life for agitating for Biafra without being violent. Those who are now advocating amnesty for bandits in the North are the same people calling for the head of Nnamdi Kanu. That call is hypocritical and nobody should listen to that. The military should instead find means of dealing with the bandits and restore peace in the Northwest and other parts of the country bandits have held sway
It’s not possible to negotiate – Anthony Sani, ex – scribe, ACF; Kaduna
We have exhausted this suggestion of amnesty to bandits. While I know the import of the adage that when one kills one person he is charged for murder; if he kills ten people he is examined for insanity; but when he kills 1,000 persons he is invited to Geneva for peace talks not because the comity of nations likes the killings, but to prevent further killings. Amnesty would be hard. This is because the bandits and insurgents do not have central authority and control. As a result, it is not possible to negotiate any terms and conditions for amnesty that is applicable to all the different groups of bandits and insurgents.
If amnesty can solve this banditry, so be it – Hassan AbdurRahman, secretary, Supreme Council for Shari’a in Nigeria; Kaduna
First of all, it is very wrong to set a bad precedence. You could remember in the near past, the Niger Delta militants were given amnesty. Perhaps that is why some people are suggesting the same for the bandits. But the truth is that in conflict resolution, both kinetic and non kinetic approaches have to be employed to attain peace. Many security experts agree that only 25 percent in conflict resolution is kinetic, the rest is non-kinetic. So, if amnesty can solve this banditry and, and a return to peace in this part of the country, so be it. However, the victims of the banditry must not be forgotten in the process. Many victims have lost their relatives and/or their livelihoods. For peace to reign, their interests must be protected.
