By Abimbola Ogunnaike
The Birnin-Gwari Emirate Progressives’ Union (BEPU),has called on President Bola Tinubu to disregard the calls made by a former Governor of Zamfara State Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, and others for negotiation with terrorists.
BEPU’s Chairman, Ishaq Usman Kasai made the call in a statement issued on Thursday, 6 July, 2023.
According to Kasai, the calls showed lack of understanding of the nature of bandits and their goals which had led to widespread destruction, loss of lives and destabilisation in the country.
“In order to effectively end the business of banditry in Nigeria, all bandits’ camps in various forests in parts of the country must be completely dislodged,” BEPU said.
He explained that anything to the contrary would only provide a temporary solution, stressing that engaging in negotiations with bandits is unlikely to yield positive outcomes.
The chairman stated that past experiences had shown that criminal elements such as bandits exploited negotiations to buy time, regroup and strengthen their positions to carry out their illicit act.
According to Kasai, negotiations as a sign of weakness by the government, stressing that it further emboldened bandits to continue their violent activities across the country.
BEPU said lack of centralised leadership among the bandits in the country makes it difficult to ensure compliance with any negotiated terms carried out in good faith.
