Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the former Governor of Kano State, argued that negotiating with bandits strengthens criminal groups by allowing them to expand their activities, insisting such approaches ultimately worsen insecurity instead of protecting communities facing repeated attacks across northern Nigeria.
According to a video from 08:04 posted on the official YouTube channel of Channels Television on Monday, July 20, 2026, while discussing strategies for tackling banditry, Ganduje warned against negotiations that, in his view, could unintentionally empower armed criminal groups further.
He maintained that ransom payments and concessions provide financial resources that criminal groups may exploit, arguing authorities should instead prioritize coordinated security operations and intelligence gathering to weaken their capacity and improve public safety across affected regions nationwide.
During the interview, he stated, “they will be able to enrich themselves through kidnapping, and that will give them more financial power to purchase weapons, which they will also use against us. Then we panic, and we call them for negotiation.”
Ganduje argued that security agencies should rely on intelligence, coordinated planning, and simultaneous operations against criminal hideouts rather than dialogue, saying such measures offer a stronger chance of disrupting organized bandit activities before they spread to other areas.
He also suggested that successful security efforts require cooperation from communities, parents, religious leaders, and other stakeholders, maintaining that preventing crime cannot rest entirely on government institutions without broader public participation and shared responsibility across society today….See More