Perhaps, more than any other consideration, the call by ex-generals for a more decisive approach to tackling insecurity in the country, is a suggestion that deserves serious attention by the government if the war against terrorism and banditry will yield desired results. According to the retired senior officers, negotiations alone cannot end banditry and terrorism in Nigeria. The generals comprising friends and associates of the late director, Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Rabe (retd), also called for urgent reforms in Nigeria’s security architecture, following his death in the hands of bandits after being kidnapped in Katsina State. They also called for stronger political will at all levels of government to address the security crisis.
One of the officers, Brig.-Gen. Maharazu Tsiga, former director-general of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), who was once a victim of kidnap, noted that terrorist and bandit groups were unlikely to voluntarily disband through negotiations, stressing that a more aggressive and coordinated strategy is required to dismantle their operations and restore peace. With direct experience on the bestiality of the terrorists having been held in their camp for weeks, should be in a better position to know their antics and modes of operation.
The call by the retired officers is timely and significant. Government needs to look into the advice against the backdrop of olive branches to the hoodlums that have been serially abused. Among the pacifist measures were deradicalization, training and reintegrating of repented terrorists to the society. Unfortunately, some of the terrorists that had claimed to have repented, later went back to their old ways, while their colleagues in their murderous mission, keep unleashing mayhem on Nigerians and foreigners in the country.
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Abducted Oyo school kids, our collective captivity
While the generals made the suggestion, gunmen attacked Kawel village, Mushere district, in Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, killing 22. Reports indicate that the attackers primarily targeted the primary health care centre in the community. Within the same time, hoodlums suspected to be terrorists attacked the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, on Monday, night, June 15, killing two soldiers and a police officer. The victims were said to be on duty at the staff quarters of the institution when they were killed. The hoodlums attacked the Institute few days ago but were repelled by security agents.
Before the latest incidents, not less than 45 students and teachers were abducted from Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Yawota; Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School in Esiele, Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State on May 15. The victims would have spent over six weeks inside the forest subjected to most harrowing of abuses and molestations. One of the kidnapped teachers, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded by the bandits inside the bush.
At the time the kids in Oyo were seized, Boko Haram terrorists also attacked Mussa Primary and Junior Secondary School in Askira/Uba Local Government Area, in Borno State, and abducted 42 students. Their fate remains unknown.
On Wednesday, June 2, gunmen abducted seven students of the Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State. This is not the first time Zamfara would come under stress caused by kidnappers. Between June 2025 and May 2026, at least 270 people were recorded to have been abducted in the State, going by documented incidents.
In all the instances, the government has been giving the bandits options of surrendering their hostages and laying down their arms or face the consequences of their actions. Despite the overtures by the government, the terrorists have remained adamant. The rapidity of the abductions and their relative successes, gives impression of the government not having any strategy at containing the infractions. It is therefore the time for the government to change tactics and adopt a new strategy in dealing with the outlaws. There is need to review the negotiation options and reintegrating the so-called repentant terrorists into the society.
Terrorism is ideological and entails the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The agenda is to instill fear, wide spread insecurity and render victims vulnerable. Terrorists leverage fear as a strategic tool to influence decision makers. It is dangerous to negotiate with terrorists or their sponsors. Terrorists operate on the frameworks of entitlement and blackmail. They do not keep to their terms but rather ask for more concessions. They can hardly be appeased or bought off. That is the same character trait of bandits and kidnappers. Terrorists only yield to the language of force and superior action.
The immediate result of the rising menace of kidnapping and terrorism, apart from loss of life, is drastic drop in economy and investment. The move last year, by the Senate in prescribing death penalty for anyone convicted of kidnapping or other acts classified as terrorism, should be pursued. The move followed a bill which sought to amend the 2022 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act by designating kidnapping and related offences as acts of terrorism and prescribing the death penalty for those found guilty, including financiers and informants.
Desperate situation requires desperate measures. Though death penalty is no longer in vogue in many countries, the psychological effects and cost implications of kidnapping and terrorism on Nigerians, require stringent measures that will act as deterrence to those involved in the crime and their sponsors. The fight against terrorists and bandits in the country require new strategies and measures, given that the hitherto conventional measures deployed in containing their menace, seem not to be yielding desired results. A very severe sentence is what should go for kidnappers and terrorists. There should not be kid glove treatment to the suspects. Only the government should have the monopoly of instruments of violence, especially in maintaining law and order. On no account should this responsibility be abdicated to any non-state actor or group.
The recent pledge by President Bola Tinubu of his administration’s commitment at tackling insecurity and ensuring the release of all persons held captive across the country, is a step in the right direction. So also, is his vow that Nigeria will not bow to terrorists or bandits. What remains is translating the pledges to action. Security of life and welfare of the citizens is primary function of government. Bandits and terrorists should no longer be allowed to dictate the pace while government trails behind.