Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna says he has refused to negotiate with bandits, choosing instead to channel resources toward supporting victims, rebuilding communities and restoring trust in areas ravaged by insurgency.
Speaking during an interview on Arise Television, Sani said his administration had been wrongly accused of offering incentives to criminals, but insisted he had never paid a naira to bandits.
His words: “When I started, a lot of people were criticising me, saying, ‘you are trying to pay bandits.’
“But I told them — a man who fought for justice, a man who fought for the freedom of the less privileged and downtrodden — cannot sit down with bandits and pay them.
“They were surprised only two weeks ago when I came up with my own programme where I gave houses to victims of insurgency. I have not given a naira to the bandits, but I have built houses for the victims of banditry in Kaduna.”
The governor said his approach to insecurity involved both “kinetic and non-kinetic methods” — all within legal limits.
Sani, who once championed the creation of state police as a senator, maintained that governors need constitutional tools to address rising insecurity.
“When I was moving that demand, I was in the Senate, not a governor. Now that I am, I know the limitations,” he said.
According to him, his administration began to make real gains after it prioritised engagement with local communities — especially in Birnin Gwari, once considered one of the most dangerous areas in the state.
“There was a trust deficit between communities and the so-called bandits,” he said.
He said efforts at reconciliation must be led by the communities themselves, not imposed by government.
Sani recalled a visit to Birnin Gwari, during which the Emir told him that many of the bandits were born under his watch.
“I said, ‘So you know them but they are killing our people?’ Even at that, I told them I would have nothing to do with the process until they released at least 200 captives — and they did,” he said.
The bandits’ demands, he said, were not financial but rather focused on reopening grain and cattle markets closed for over 10 years.
He noted that the dialogue involved close collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser.