News
Insecurity: No Amnesty For Bandits, Criminals, Buhari Insists
Governors of the 19 Northern States and traditional rulers of the region have begun a strategy meeting in Kaduna where they are x-raying the security challenges bedevilling the region.
The two-day meeting of NGF, which opened, yesterday, at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna, is also being attended by the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawal, Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, and Information Minister, Lai Mohammed.
Others are National Security Adviser, Maj-Gen Mohammed Monguno, Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Ibrahim, and Director General, State Security Service, Yusuf Bichi.
Speaking at the event, President Muhammadu Buhari said that government shall continue to deal with insurgents, as bandits, kidnappers and other criminals constitute threat to citizens across the country.
“Criminals are criminals and should be dealt with,” he said.
Represented by the Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, the President appreciated the efforts of the Northern States Governors for their contribution towards National Growth and development, “especially in this challenging period in our nation’s being where certain fundamental corporate existence needs to be frankly deliberated upon and actionable resolutions reached.”
He said the meeting was coming at a time when they were making steady progress in addressing the many challenges impeding development, such as providing critical infrastructure like roads, railways, airports among others, which are critical to economic prosperity.
He said government was also providing economic opportunities for citizens to pursue legitimate aspirations, adding that even though they were confronting the various dimensions of security challenges, they would continue the emancipation of the people from poverty and economic deprivation.
“I have already tasked the new service chiefs to devise new strategies that will end this ugly situation where the lives of our people continue to be threatened by hoodlums and criminals. I expect that at this meeting, your forum will also discuss of building stronger collaboration with the security architecture and devise ways and the people in defeating criminality across the region and the nation at large.
“I wish to advocate for, between the Northern Governors Forum synergy and other Forums in the other regions for the collective good of our nation. You should endeavour to compare notes and peer-review one another to exchange ideas and adopt best practices for the good of the people you govern.
“In this regard, I wish to commend the chairman and members of this forum for rising to the occasion to de-escalate the recent tension arising from clashes between herders which resulted in the loss of lives and properties. The efforts of the forum in engaging all farmers, other parties and supporting the efforts of the Federal Government have gone a long way to ameliorate the situation. We need to sustain this tempo to attain total calm.
“Today’s gathering also demonstrates the collective will of the people of the Northern part of this country to promote living together and staying amongst all Nigerians irrespective of religious differences,” he said.
Buhari also downplayed the possibility of the Federal Government granting amnesty to criminals and bandits.
Buhari warned that his government would deal decisively with all forms of criminality in the country.
He said he has directed the security chief to evolve strategy on how to deal with all forms of criminalities.
He said, “I must appreciate the efforts of the 19 Northern States Governors’ Forum for their contribution towards national growth and development, especially in this challenging period in our nation’s being where certain fundamental corporate existence needs to be frankly deliberated upon and actionable resolutions reached.
“At the same time, we are confronting the various dimensions of security challenges that continue to slow down the emancipation of our people from poverty and economic deprivation. The government shall continue to deal with insurgents, bandits, kidnappers and other criminals who constitute a threat to innocent citizens across the country.
“Criminals are criminals and should be dealt with accordingly, without resorting to ethnic profiling. I have already tasked the new service chiefs to devise new strategies that will end this ugly situation where the lives of our people continue to be threatened by hoodlums and criminals.”
Buhari’s comment is coming at a time popular Islamic cleric, Sheikh Abubakar Gumi had called on the Federal Government to grant amnesty to bandits.
Gumi had explained that granting amnesty to bandits was better than engaging them in what he termed “operation fire-for-fire.”
He had also pointed out that amnesty to bandits would help calm down the tense insecurity situation.
The governors at the meeting, holding at Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, include those of Plateau, Adamawa, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Jigawa and Katsina.
However, governors of Niger, Zamfara, Yobe, Benue, Kogi, Kabbi were represented by deputy governors of the states, among others.
At their last meeting on November 2, 2020, the Northern governors had set up two committees to push for statutory roles for traditional rulers and another on youth and civil societies.
The committee on roles of traditional rulers is chaired by the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Bage, with two representatives from the National Assembly, one from each of the three zones, and a minister as members.
The Committee on Youth and Civil Societies has the Emir of Zazzau, Amb Ahmad Bamalli as chairman, with one representative of elders, youth, women, persons with disability as members from each of the three zones.
The November meeting had also backed efforts to regulate the spread of fake news through the social media bill.
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, had lauded the courage and commitment of troops of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the ongoing counter-insurgency operations in North East Nigeria.
Abubakar gave the commendation during a morale-boosting visit to the Air Component of Operation HADIN KAI in Maiduguri, Borno.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, yesterday, in Abuja.
The CAS said their sacrifices were etched in the history of the nation, and in the hearts of millions of Nigerians who sleep safer because of the troops’ vigilance.
He emphasised that their bravery and resilience in the face of adversity have not gone unnoticed, saying his visit underscored the vital role airpower plays in neutralising threats and protecting communities.
Abubakar pledged continued investment in cutting-edge technology to empower frontline units.
According to him, the NAF remains steadfast in its mission, guided by leadership, strengthened by unity, and driven by the selfless service of its personnel.
The visit comes at a critical moment, reinforcing the importance of public support for military operations and spotlighting the human element at the heart of national defence.
Nigeria’s soft drinks and beverage market continues to show strong growth potential, making it the leading consumer of soft drinks in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association.
A statement by the VDMA disclosed during a press conference held in Lagos ahead of drinktec 2025, that Nigeria consumed over 53 billion litres of soft drinks in 2024, placing it well ahead of other African countries such as Ghana and South Africa.
Despite challenges such as inflation and a weakening naira, Nigeria’s growing population, rising urbanisation, and expanding middle class are key factors driving demand in the beverage sector.
Bottled water led the segment with 48.7 billion litres sold in 2024, a figure projected to rise by 27% to 62 billion litres by 2028.
Carbonated soft drinks followed with 3.4 billion litres, expected to reach 4.4 billion litres by 2028, while energy drinks are forecasted to grow by 30% over the same period. Juices, though relatively small, are also on an upward trajectory.
“The Nigerian beverage market is expanding quickly due to increasing accessibility and affordability,” VDMA stated, citing data from Euromonitor International.
Set to take place in Munich from 15 to 19 September 2025, drinktec is the world’s leading trade fair for the beverage and liquid food industry.
VDMA, a key exhibitor and technical partner for the event, revealed that Nigerian participation is expected to be strong, especially as the country anticipates economic recovery.
Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has condemned the recent ban placed on a song by Nigerian musician, Eedris Abdulkareem, describing the development as a return to the culture of censorship and a threat to the right to free expression.
Abdulkareem had waxed a song titled “Tell Your Papa” which criticized President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
In a statement issued from New York University, Abu Dhabi, yesterday, Soyinka criticised the action and its wider implications, saying it echoed past attempts to stifle artistic and socio-political commentary in Nigeria.
“Courtesy of an artist operating in a different genre – the cartoon – who sent me his recent graphic comment on the event, I learnt recently of a return to the culture of censorship with the banning of the product of a music artist, Eedris Abdulkareem,” Soyinka said in the piece posted on PM news.
He expressed irony in suggesting that the ban did not go far enough, stating, “It is not only the allegedly offensive record that should be banned – the musician himself should be proscribed. Next, PMAN, or whatever musical association of which Abdulkareem is member, should also go under the hammer.”
Soyinka noted that he had not listened to the banned song but stressed that the issue transcends content and concerns a fundamental democratic principle.
“It cannot be flouted. That, surely is basic. This is why I feel that we should look on the bright side of any picture and thus recommend the Aleshinloye cartoon – and others in allied vein – as an easy-to-apprehend, easy-to-digest summation of the wisdom of attempting to stifle unpalatable works of art or socio-political commentary,” he said.
He also pointed out the irony that censorship often benefits the targeted artist.
The ban is a boost to the artist’s nest egg, thanks to free governmental promotion. Mr. Abdulkareem must be currently warbling his merry way all the way to the bank. I envy him,” he added.
The literary icon warned that such censorship was not only counterproductive but also dangerous to democratic development.
“We have been through this before, over and over again, ad nauseum. We know where it all ends. It is boring, time-wasting, diversionary but most essential of all, subversive of all seizures of the fundamental right of free expression,” Soyinka said.
He warned that the ban creates “a permissive atmosphere of trickle-down power,” where state authorities feel emboldened to clamp down on dissent.
Soyinka’s statement also touched on broader issues of impunity and mob violence in Nigeria, lamenting the recent lynching of 19 youths in Edo State.
“My heart goes out to friends, colleagues and families of victims and traumatised survivors of this senseless slaughter. Our thirst for justice must remain unslaked,” he said.
Referencing the 2022 killing of Deborah Samuel in Sokoto, Soyinka criticised the culture of impunity, saying, “Identified killers were set free to gloat, and paste their photos on the Social Media… in full daylight glare, in the presence of both citizen voyeurs and security forces.”
He called for accountability, warning that “as long as the culture of impunity is given the sheerest strain of legitimacy in any given cause, such gruesome assaults on our common humanity will continue to prevail.”
Soyinka concluded by urging the relevant regulatory body to reverse what he described as a “petulant irrationality,” warning that any government that only tolerates praise-singers “has already commenced a downhill slide into the abyss.”