Former Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, has advocated for a pragmatic approach by the incoming administration led by President Bola Tinubu, urging negotiations with bandits to secure a more hopeful path for them.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Shittu stressed the potential of many bandits as capable individuals worth retaining within society.
Highlighting the importance of nonviolent methods in dealing with banditry, the former Minister proposed offering promising prospects to bandits through negotiation rather than resorting to forceful measures.
“If I am in a position, it is not too late to use non-kinetic measures in negotiating with bandits, giving them a promising future. Let us retain them. Many of them are very intelligent, many of them are able-bodied,” Shittu emphasized.
The former minister’s stance mirrors recent sentiments expressed by controversial Islamic cleric Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who similarly urged the government to engage in dialogue with bandits.
Shittu also voiced concern over the alarming rate of out-of-school children in Northern Nigeria, attributing it to the exacerbation of banditry in the region.
