Bandits Deserve Forgiveness, Says Ex-Zamfara Gov

Sani Yerima, a former governor of Zamfara state has called on Nigerians to forgive bandits terrorising some parts of Northern Nigeria.

The bandits have killed many Nigerians in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger, Sokoto, and other states, and have been designated terrorists by the federal government which has ordered the military to crush them.

Just last month, the terrorist killed no fewer than 60 people and abducted 35 girls in Sokoto and Zamfara villages.

But the former governor of Zamfara, one of the epicenters of banditry in the country, said after a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Aso Rock, Presidential Villa, Abuja, that the use of force cannot end banditry in the country.

He urged the federal government to dialogue with the criminals, the same way the late President Umaru Yar’adua dialogued with Niger Delta militants, which brought to an end restiveness in the nation’s oil-producing area.

If God can forgive, he said, “There’s no way you can say Nigerians should not be forgiven if they repent.”

The former governor stated that many bandits have been killed and arrested, adding that the dialogue with repentant bandits should have a timeline, noting that this is the only way to restore peace and security to the country.

According to him, “A lot of bandits have been arrested and killed, and I’m not saying government should just continue to just negotiate indefinitely. No, I said invite them.

“There are people, who repent in all religions – Islam, Christian, Judaism, with the fact that God, who created us once you repent after committing offences, after committing sins he forgives you, so there’s no way you can say Nigerians should not be forgiven if they repent.

“If they repent, they should be rehabilitated and reintegrated into the society and then measures should be taken to avoid reoccurrence of this menace.

“But, if they don’t the government has enough power, enough resources, the military, the security have enough capacity. I have confidence in the Nigerian security that they have enough capacity with the political will and support of the government to handle this matter. So, dialogue is part of governance,” he said.

Before he met with President Tinubu on Monday, the former governor, in an interview with the BBC Hausa Service at the weekend, stated that the bandits deserved to be treated the same way as former Niger Delta militants for criminality to end in the north.