The Katsina State government has confirmed that armed bandits are demanding the construction of schools, hospitals, and grazing reserves as part of ongoing peace efforts in the state.
The State Commissioner for Security, Nasiru Mu’azu, told the BBC HAUSA on Thursday that the demands came during community-led negotiations with the gunmen in areas such as Dan Musa, Jibiya, Batsari, Kankara, Kurfi, and Musawa.
Mu’azu explained that the talks were not initiated by the government but by village leaders who wanted to end years of killings, cattle rustling, and kidnappings.
He noted that the collapse of the state’s earlier amnesty programme made insecurity worse, spreading attacks from five local government areas between 2011 and 2015 to 25 by 2023.
“The peace agreement was started by the communities themselves, not by the state government. It was the village leaders who reached out to the gunmen and negotiated with them,” Mu’azu said.
According to him, the bandits asked for schools, hospitals, and support for animal husbandry in exchange for peace.
A report by Nigerian security research firm Beacon Consulting revealed that between January and March 2025, 341 people were killed and 495 kidnapped in 247 attacks across Katsina State.
