A file photo of the Minister of Police Affairs, Muhammad Dingyadi.
In order to find a long-term solution to the security concerns in the country's north-west and north-central areas, the Federal Government is prepared to listen to repentant bandits and settle them without charge.
Muhammad Dingyadi, the Minister of Police Affairs, revealed this on Channels Television's Politics Today on Tuesday.
“Anyone wanting to surrender and do so honorably and honestly will be welcomed with open arms by the government. He stated, "The administration is willing to explore what they can do to settle them down at a low cost."
Dingyadi stated that the current administration wanted to reintegrate repentant bandits into society, adding that the government would closely watch individuals who had changed their ways to ensure they did not revert to their former ways.
He also discussed current military operations against bandits in Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and other areas where their actions have been worrying.
‘When You Surrender' is a song from the album ‘When You Surrender.
President Muhammadu Buhari's government, according to the minister, would continue to have success against bandits as long as security services work together.
“When you talk of amnesty, it is a relative term, and what the Federal Government is trying to say is that: ‘Let us see those who have surrendered their arms, let us listen to them, let us chronicle them, let us receive them'; we cannot just throw these people away because they are all Nigerians,” he said.
“Of course, they are criminals who have perpetrated atrocities and crimes, but when you surrender from a combat zone, you are not murdered, you are not wounded, and you are allowed to have your say, according to international law.
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We're paying attention to them to see how we might better integrate them into society. We're attempting to establish them in their different communities and provide them with a means of subsistence so that they may integrate peacefully and honorably into society.”
Despite the government's and security forces' claims that banditry will be eradicated, criminal elements frequently strike in large groups and arrive on motorcycles.
The military has conducted operations and airstrikes on their camps, which are concealed deep in the jungles of Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina, and Niger states, but bloodshed has intensified.
