• Home
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
  • National
    • Government
  • Security
  • Features
  • State
  • Event
    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Search
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
PRNIGERIA PRNigeria News
PRNIGERIA PRNIGERIA
  • Home
  • Anti-Corruption
    • ICPC Secures Conviction of Rector for Running Unaccredited Degree Programmes

      Engr Abba Babagana Dalori

      Engr Dalori Forfeits Galaxy Hospital, Petrol Station, Properties & Cash

      Chinese nationals jailed in Lagos

      Court Jails Nine Chinese Nationals for Cybercrime in Lagos

      ASUU

      Tackle Corruption, Institutional Decay – ASUU Charges FG

      EFCC Arraigns Bauchi Accountant General Over N8bn Fraud as Court Sentences…

  • Fact-Check
  • Economy
    • Customs Partners US Mission to Prevent Expanded Visa Ban

      Nigeria Customs Partners China on Smarter Ports, Officer Training, Reforms

      Comptroller General Nigerian Customs Bashir Adewale

      Customs Moves Against 223 Importers in N379bn Permit Breach

      Bashir Adewale Adeniyi Customs Boss

      How Customs is Tightening Borders to Stop Illicit Cash Flows –…

      Customs boss, CGC Bashir Adewale Adeniyi with NAFDAC DG Professor Moji Adeyeye

      Codeine, Tramadol Worth ₦20.5bn Seized as Customs-NAFDAC Cooperation Deepens

  • National
    • Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu and representatives at NIPR FCT the meeting

      NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism

      Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      IG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical…

      Army Commander keeps 100 students in school

      Army Commander’s Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in Zamfara

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 students

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 Students in Evergreen, SimplifiedIQ’s Education Program

      CG Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      NIPR Hails customs Boss’ Tenure Extension as Evidence of Transformational Leadership

    • Government
      • Olubaka of Oka Praises Foundation for “Best Oka Day” Festival

        Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu and representatives at NIPR FCT the meeting

        NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism

        Mohammed Idris Malagi, Honorable Minister of Information and National Orientation

        FG Reacts to Niger Governor’s Closure of Badegi FM

        Northern leaders at Arewa Summit

        Northern Leaders Urge Action on Almajiri Crisis, Equitable Resources at Arewa…

        Saidu Ahmed Alkali,

        Kaduna-Kano Light Rail Underway as FG Targets ₦70bn Investment

  • Security
    • The Director of Defence Media Operations, Major-General Markus Kangye,

      Troops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July Operations

      Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

      IG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical…

      Nigerian Police Force

      Anambra Police Nab Wanted Kidnap Suspect in Kaduna

      Nigerian Navy

      Navy to Establish  Base in Kebbi to Tackle Inland Waterway Crimes

      Army Commander keeps 100 students in school

      Army Commander’s Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in Zamfara

  • Features
    • CG Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

      Customs Just Wrote Nigeria’s Energy Rulebook

      Okello Oculi

      Okello Oculi: A Pan-Africanist Asteroid Burns out Forever By Is’haq Modibbo…

      Leon Usigbe

      Death, you can’t be Proud of this By Abdulrahman Abdulraheem 

      Tinubu’s Plateau Gambit – Yilwatda, 2027, and the Return of the…

      Ozumi and a recipient of a wheelchair

      Wheels of Hope: How a Simple Gift is Reshaping Lives at…

  • State
    • court Judiciary

      Lawyer Sues Housing Ministry, FHA Over Alleged Property Redesign

      Army Commander keeps 100 students in school

      Army Commander’s Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in Zamfara

      Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, receiving the land document from Governor Pastor Umo Bassey Eno in Akwa Ibom

      Akwa Ibom Boosts National Security with Land Donation for Nigerian Air…

      Nigerian Army

      Army Denies Allegations of Misconduct in Imo Community

      Military Troops in Action

      Troops Repel Bandit Attacks in Katsina, Plateau, Recover Rustled Cattle, Sustain…

  • Event
    • Olubaka of Oka Praises Foundation for “Best Oka Day” Festival

      court Judiciary

      Lawyer Sues Housing Ministry, FHA Over Alleged Property Redesign

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 students

      Sam Obi Sponsors 500 Students in Evergreen, SimplifiedIQ’s Education Program

      Comptroller General Customs Bashir Adewale and his staffs with the representatives of the European Union, the German Embassy

      Customs Unveils Renewable Energy Handbook, Strengthens EU-Germany-GIZ Partnership

      University of Maiduguri

      UNIMAID Mass Comm becomes Faculty of Communication and Media Studies

    • PR Nigeria Award
  • E-Paper
Home General Outrage as Group Condemns Katsina, Zamfara Governors for Hosting Wanted Bandit at...
  • General

Outrage as Group Condemns Katsina, Zamfara Governors for Hosting Wanted Bandit at ‘Peace Meeting’

By
Abdulmumin Sarki
-
June 20, 2025
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara
Governor Dauda Lawal of Zamfara

Outrage as Group Condemns Katsina, Zamfara Governors for Hosting Wanted Bandit at ‘Peace Meeting’

A civil society group, the Citizens for Equity and Justice Initiative (CEJI), has condemned the governors of Zamfara and Katsina states over a widely criticised peace meeting held with Ado Aleru, a notorious bandit leader long declared wanted by security forces.

 

The meeting, held Saturday in Bichi community, Danmusa LGA of Katsina, was attended by traditional rulers, local government officials, representatives of the Nigerian Army, and top officials from both states. In widely circulated video footage, Aleru — who has a N5 million bounty on his head — was seen addressing the gathering, urging for peaceful coexistence between Fulani herders and farming communities.

Aleru has been linked to countless acts of terror and bloodshed in the north-west, with human rights organisations accusing him of orchestrating mass killings, mass kidnappings, and the displacement of thousands. His reemergence, not in handcuffs but at the centre of state-sanctioned negotiations, has sparked outrage across the country.

CEJI, a non-partisan watchdog focused on justice and rule of law, said the presence of state officials and security personnel at a meeting where Aleru was not only welcomed but offered a platform to speak, was a complete betrayal of the Nigerian people and an affront to every citizen who has lost a loved one to bandit violence.

 

In a statement issued on Friday, Dr Abdulmumin Sarki, CEJI president, accused governors Dikko Radda of Katsina and Dauda Lawal of Zamfara of hypocrisy and political cowardice.

 

“These are the same governors who, while campaigning, condemned so-called peace deals with blood-stained warlords,” Sarki said.

 

“Now in power, they are doing precisely what they once derided — normalising criminals as stakeholders in the governance process, even as tens of thousands of citizens remain unaccounted for due to the very violence these men unleashed.”

 

The group referenced a 2023 report by Amnesty International which estimated that more than 10,000 Nigerians have been killed and tens of thousands more displaced in the past two years alone as a result of banditry and communal violence in the northwest. In that context, CEJI described the peace parley as a “moral collapse of governance”.

 

Read Also:

  • Olubaka of Oka Praises Foundation for “Best Oka Day” Festival
  • NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism
  • Troops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July Operations

“You do not negotiate with terrorists in the open, not when the blood of their victims is still drying, not when they remain armed, wanted, and unrepentant. It is a dangerous precedent that delegitimises state authority and emboldens violent actors,” Sarki added.

 

Governor Lawal of Zamfara had, in August 2023, publicly ruled out dialogue with bandits, describing such moves as “a failed strategy that has only given criminals more time to regroup and rearm.”

 

Similarly, Governor Radda had dismissed earlier peace talks under his predecessor as “a misguided approach that rewarded impunity.”

 

CEJI said both governors must be held to account for clearly contradicting their own policy positions and exposing the public to more insecurity.

 

“The Nigerian state cannot simultaneously claim to be fighting insecurity while its chief executives are sharing stages with those they should be arresting. This is a contradiction that weakens the rule of law and puts lives at risk,” Sarki said.

 

The group called on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, and the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to immediately investigate the circumstances under which Ado Aleru was allowed to surface freely and publicly despite his wanted status.

 

“It is unacceptable that a man declared wanted since 2020 was able to move around with such impunity, engage state actors, and issue statements without fear of arrest. The implication is that there may be state complicity in shielding these actors, which is a grievous national security breach,” the statement added.

 

The group also urged the National Human Rights Commission and international partners to investigate the meeting as a possible violation of Nigeria’s obligations under international law.

 

“Negotiating with known perpetrators of crimes against humanity, in full view of the security agencies and the public, without any form of justice or accountability, is a breach of international norms and values,” CEJI stated.

 

It called on the governors to issue public explanations for their roles in the meeting and to clarify whether their administrations now officially recognise violent non-state actors as peace partners.

 

“If the governors of Katsina and Zamfara can legitimise a fugitive bandit in the name of peace, what will stop every other violent group from demanding the same treatment?” Sarki asked.

 

“That meeting undermines the rule of law. It tells victims there is no justice. It tells future terrorists that with enough weapons and violence, they too can get invited to state dinners.

 

“We strongly condemn that so-called peace meeting and urge the security agencies to investigate that highly provocative gathering.”

 

VISIT OUR OTHER WEBSITES
PRNigeria.com EconomicConfidential.com PRNigeria.com/Hausa/
EmergencyDigest.com PoliticsDigest.ng TechDigest.ng
HealthDigest.ng SpokesPersonsdigest.com TeensDigest.ng
ArewaAgenda.com Hausa.ArewaAgenda.com YAShuaib.com
  • TAGS
  • Citizens for Equity and Justice Initiative
Previous articleAt Juma’at Prayer, Leaders Urged to Reform Nigeria’s Civil Service
Next articleGroup Slams Zamfara Gov’s Reconciliation Move, Says Matawalle Vindicated on Bandit Dialogue
Abdulmumin Sarki
Abdulmumin Sarki
Xing

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

Dr. Emmanuel Ojukwu and representatives at NIPR FCT the meeting

NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism

Ministry of Information and National Orientation has inaugurated an Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU)

Information Ministry Inaugurates Anti-Corruption Unit to Deepen Transparency

Inspector-General of Police Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun

IG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical Intelligence Unit

Comptroller General Customs Bashir Adewale and his staffs with the representatives of the European Union, the German Embassy

Customs Unveils Renewable Energy Handbook, Strengthens EU-Germany-GIZ Partnership

University of Maiduguri

UNIMAID Mass Comm becomes Faculty of Communication and Media Studies

CG Customs Bashir Adewale Adeniyi

Tinubu’s Extension of Customs CG Bashir Adeniyi’s Tenure Draws Widespread Praise and Reactions

Saidu Ahmed Alkali,

FG Secures China Funding to Fast-Track Kaduna–Kano Rail Completion

nipr logo

NIPR Slams Fake News Peddlers over Alleged Lafia Flyover Collapse

Alhaji Ahmed Maiyaki, Commissioner of Information, Kaduna State

Kaduna Governor Appoints Strategic Communicator, Ahmed Maiyaki as Information Commissioner

Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani

Gov Sani sacks Commissioner, Announces New Appointment

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar with the President of NIPR, Dr. Ike Neliaku during the unveiling of the National Reputation Management Group at Abuja on 15th October 2024.

NRMG Charged to Lead Battle Against Fake News, Reframe Nigeria’s Image

IMPR Interns

Unpacking Dr. Fatima Binta’s NIPR Vision: A Candid Chat with PRNigeria Interns

Recent Posts

  • Olubaka of Oka Praises Foundation for “Best Oka Day” Festival
  • NIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and Professionalism
  • Troops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July Operations
  • FG Reacts to Niger Governor’s Closure of Badegi FM
  • Information Ministry Inaugurates Anti-Corruption Unit to Deepen Transparency
  • Home
  • About
  • Adverts
  • Contact
© 2020 PRNigeria. All Rights Reserved.
Latest News
Olubaka of Oka Praises Foundation for "Best Oka Day" FestivalNIPR FCT Chapter Focuses on Crisis Communication and ProfessionalismTroops Eliminate Dozens of Terrorists, Arrest 578 Suspects in July OperationsFG Reacts to Niger Governor’s Closure of Badegi FMInformation Ministry Inaugurates Anti-Corruption Unit to Deepen TransparencyIG Boosts Police Intelligence Capacity with New Tech, Training for Technical Intelligence UnitAnambra Police Nab Wanted Kidnap Suspect in KadunaCustoms Just Wrote Nigeria's Energy RulebookLawyer Sues Housing Ministry, FHA Over Alleged Property RedesignNavy to Establish  Base in Kebbi to Tackle Inland Waterway CrimesArmy Commander's Compassion Keeps 100 Students in School in ZamfaraSam Obi Sponsors 500 Students in Evergreen, SimplifiedIQ's Education ProgramNIPR Hails customs Boss' Tenure Extension as Evidence of Transformational LeadershipAkwa Ibom Boosts National Security with Land Donation for Nigerian Air Force BaseCustoms Unveils Renewable Energy Handbook, Strengthens EU-Germany-GIZ Partnership
X whatsapp