Notable bandit kingpins have opened up on the reasons they resorted to violence as means to an end in separate interviews with Trust TV.
In a report by Daily Trust on the interactions, bandit leaders blamed injustice against the herders for the arms struggle, even as they claimed the inability of government officials to honour its agreement made during dialogues further exacerbated the crisis.
A bandit kingpin, Shehu Rekeb, said there is hardly a day without Nigerians being killed.
He said, “Every passing hour, Nigerians are killed by either bandits, security personnel or vigilantes in Niger, Sokoto, and Kaduna. Everyone you see carrying a gun is out there to kill a Nigerian.
“This is the dire situation Nigeria has found itself in that one cannot help but shed tears.”
‘Dialogue offer, a hoax’
Rekeb argued that had the concerned authorities kept their promise on dialogue, banditry would have been a thing of the past.
He said his gang was asked for an armistice which they agreed to, but it turned out to be nothing but a hoax.
“After we agreed with a dialogue offer, we were left in the bush with guns.”
However, the most wanted bandit kingpin in Zamfara, Bello Turji, said injustice against Fulani is what plunged the country into the dire situation.
According to Turji, the first time he saw human beings slaughtered was in a market in Shinkafi.
He said vigilantes brought a man to near the Shinkafi abattoir in broad daylight and slaughtered him in front of everyone to see.
The bandit leader said herders had to fight back when they were denied access to Shinkafi in Zamfara.
