“It Was The Government That Made Us Bandits” — Armed Group Says As Two LGAs Seal Peace Pact In Katsina

Katsina State— Communities in Charanchi and Batagarawa Local Government Areas of Katsina State on Saturday formalised a peace agreement with representatives of Fulani armed groups in a reconciliation meeting that featured public promises to halt attacks and kidnappings.

At the gathering, a man identified as one of the armed group members told the crowd that the root of the violence lay beyond local actors.

He explained that the oppressed people should not blame the terrorists but should rather cry out to the government.

“It was the government that wanted us to engage in armed banditry, but now it has called us and told us to stop. Therefore, by God’s grace, we have stopped from today,” said one of the bandits during the peace meeting between Batagarawa and Charanchi held on Saturday.

“If the government wants all this insecurity to end, they have the power to end it—but they don’t want it to end. For the past two months, we have been trying to initiate a peace talk, but we were unable to because they didn’t know where we were hiding.

“But when they finally decided to meet us, they were able to find and talk to us today. Peaceful coexistence and the end of insecurity depend on the Nigerian leaders. If they want us to keep striking and attacking, we will. But if they want peace, we will also make it happen.

“We don’t have the power or wisdom to bring peace to the country except through the Nigerian government, because everything is under their control. Despite people saying that we are attacking, it is the government that made us do it.

“If they don’t want us to attack or kidnap people, they can stop it. However, today, they were the ones who called us, and by God’s grace, we have stopped from today. You oppressed citizens—if you want to cry, don’t cry with us, the ‘terrorists,’ but cry with your government, for they are the ones who made us do what we have been doing,” the terrorist said.

Saturday’s meeting follows a spate of similar high-profile truces across parts of Katsina State in recent months, where bandit leaders and community representatives have met under initiatives variously described as community-led dialogues.

Meanwhile, officials in Katsina have given mixed messages about the government’s role in such talks. While some local authorities and traditional rulers have attended or facilitated meetings, the state government has at times sought to distance itself from direct negotiations with armed groups, saying it is not formally bargaining with criminals.

That ambiguity — between community mediation, traditional authority involvement, and claims about government contact — complicates public understanding of who is brokering peace.