Twenty local governments in Nigeria’s northwest are now signing peace deals with armed bandits, but a reporter working in the region warns the agreements will not end the problem because banditry began locally and has since grown into a wider, stronger network.
On Nigeria Info FM' Morning Crossfire on Monday, a journalist, Malik Samuel, said communities are entering peace deals because they feel unprotected.
“They are forced to enter these peace deals, not because they want to, but because they have no choice,” he said.
Samuel explained that banditry did not start as a foreign invasion.
According to him, the crisis began around 2012–2013 in parts of Zamfara State, when some young men started petty crimes such as local robberies and small kidnappings.
“Many of the people now labelled ‘bandits’ are known in their communities — they are local youths whose families are also known,” he said.
As vigilante groups formed to fight the rising crime, clashes increased, and the violence grew. Samuel said the bandits now escape into large forest belts that link several states.
He described the forests as extremely thick: “You don’t even see daylight,” he said. The fighters move through the forests to avoid arrest.
Samuel added that, over time, some outside actors joined the crime groups.
He said some fighters come from neighbouring Sahel countries, and some leaders trade local gold and other resources to buy weapons.
On peace deals, Samuel warned that the agreements do not stop the violence. In some places, bandits demand free access to markets and clinics.
In others, communities pay “farming levies” or protection money.
He said the danger is that bandits will simply shift their attacks to nearby areas that do not have peace agreements.
He said strong government action, real disarmament, and honest policing are needed.
He warned that without such steps, peace deals may only buy temporary safety while the bandits grow stronger elsewhere.
