The Kaduna State Government has said it offered bandits access to education, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities rather than cash incentives as part of efforts to end years of killings and kidnappings in the state.
This was disclosed by the state Commissioner for Information, Ahmed Maiyaki, on Wednesday during a one-day workshop on Peace Journalism organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kaduna State Council, in collaboration with the Global Peace Foundation Nigeria and the Kaduna State Ministry of Information.
According to him, the occasion is tailored to change “confrontation to conversation,” and build peace through dialogue and development instead of financial appeasement.
“You cannot bomb peace into existence; you must build it with trust.
“The turning point came when leaders of armed groups asked the government to reopen markets, schools, and healthcare centres that had been shut down because of insecurity.
“We agreed because these are basic human needs, not ransom payments. We didn’t give them a dime. What we gave was life back to communities long abandoned,” Maiyaki explained.
He noted that between 2015 and 2023, Kaduna State recorded 1,160 security incidents resulting in 4,876 deaths, with thousands more kidnapped or displaced.
“By 2021 alone, 1,192 people were killed and 3,348 abducted, leading to the closure of 142 schools and 192 health facilities across several local government areas,” he added.
He disclosed that through the joint ONSA–Kaduna Peace Committee, more than 500 captives had been safely released via negotiations without the payment of ransom or resorting to force.
“We are seeing trust where there was fear, and cooperation where there was hostility,” Maiyaki said.
“The peace model works because it is owned by the people. Communities co-create peace instead of having it dictated by government,” he added.
According to Maiyaki, over 500,000 hectares of farmland have been recovered under the peace initiative.
“Markets have reopened, and between 20 and 30 cattle trucks now move weekly on roads that were once feared by travellers,” he said.
Maiyaki, however, clarified that the process was not a one-off truce but an ongoing engagement involving traditional rulers, clerics, and community leaders to prevent a relapse into violence.
Earlier in her presentation, the Guest Lecturer and Head of Department, Strategic Communication and Media Studies at Kaduna Polytechnic, Fatima Shuaibu, said Nigeria’s recurring conflicts were as a result of mismanaged diversity and leadership failure.
According to her; “The media must deliberately emphasise solution-oriented stories that strengthen peace and social cohesion. When we misreport conflicts, we deepen wounds instead of healing them.”
