The northwest state of Zamfara, which has been plagued by years of murderous violence, has seen one Nigerian gang leader accept a peace offer from authorities, a local official said on Monday.
According to deputy governor of Zamfara state Hassan Nasiha, band leader Bello Turji has agreed to put a halt to ransom attacks and kidnappings.
Nasiha stated, “We have negotiated a peace accord with Turji, and in the last six weeks there hasn’t been a single murder in the territories he governs. He claimed that Turji is now engaged in combat with other gangs that have resisted giving up their weapons.
For years, heavily armed bandits have terrorized the local residents by pillaging villages, murdering and kidnapping individuals, and setting houses on fire.
According to the deputy governor, the bandits requested the release of gang members detained by law enforcement as well as an end to extrajudicial executions of members of their ethnic community in exchange for giving over their weapons.
Since many of the bandits are pastoralists, they also requested the restoration of water points and grazing reserves as well as the return of their farms that had been taken as loot by nearby communities.
Despite numerous prior failed attempts at peace negotiations with bandits, the local authorities complied with all the requests.
Bulama Bukarti, an analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, asserts that Turji has in the past broken peace treaties.
“Turji was never made to pay for his crimes… This is a hastily negotiated agreement forged by politicians who are eager to gain support before the upcoming elections “He tweeted this.
