The Katsina State Governor, Dikko Radda, has confirmed that community-led peace deals with bandits are yielding concrete results, restoring normalcy to once-terrorised areas and sharply reducing attacks, kidnappings and government spending.
The governor described the initiative as “yielding very positive results,” noting that the agreements brokered directly between affected communities and armed groups have restored relative calm to several hotspots across the state.
Speaking during a visit to Batsari and Danmusa Local Government Areas on Friday, Governor Radda highlighted the changing security landscape by leading his convoy through the once-dreaded Danburum Forest in Batsari, a notorious bandit stronghold where hundreds had been killed or abducted in recent years.
To further demonstrate the transformation, the convoy stopped deep inside the forest, where passengers briefly alighted, walked a short distance, and picked edible wild fruits. Some of the fruits were later presented to the governor and senior officials, who ate them without fear.
“We thank God the peace deal initiative organised by the communities is yielding very positive results,” Radda said. “I can say that in the last few days, I have not received a single incident report from the security forces like I used to.”
He disclosed that a state agency responsible for medical and welfare support for banditry victims spent less than ₦2 million in November, a significant drop from the more than ₦40 million it used to spend monthly.
“Before now, the agency used to spend over ₦40 million a month to address some of the health bills of the victims,” he explained. “But that figure has substantially improved in recent months. We have not paid that kind of money for a very long time.”
While acknowledging that banditry has not been completely eliminated, Governor Radda insisted that the peace accords have significantly improved security and allowed farming and other economic activities to resume in communities previously abandoned due to attacks.
He urged religious leaders to continue praying for sustained peace to ensure that the gains recorded are not reversed.
