Former members of the National Assembly under the auspices of House to The Rescue (HTR) have warned against all forms of negotiation with terrorists as a means to address the insecurity in the country.
North West Zonal Coordinator, Muhammed Soba, stated this in a statement he and other zonal coordinators co-signed on Wednesday.
Soba said negotiating with criminals had never worked anywhere in the world, adding that global history warned of its disadvantages.
“Countries that tried this path paid dearly for it; Colombia talks with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) emboldened kidnappers, increased ransom operations, and strengthened the group militarily.
“Mexico’s back-channel contacts with cartels worsened kidnapping rates, empowered gangs, and created a security collapse from which Mexico still suffers.
“Afghanistan’s concessions to the Taliban-including prisoner swaps-allowed the group to regroup and eventually overthrow the entire government.
“Somalia’s engagement with warlords only deepened the conflict and gave militias space to expand and Mali’s deals with jihadist/bandit groups allowed them to spread violence into neighbouring countries.
“The global evidence is indisputable, negotiating with violent non-state actors leads to more violence, not peace.
“Nigeria is not an exception, Nigeria will not be the first country where bandit negotiations succeeds,” he said.
The former lawmaker warned that any form of negotiation would amount to legitimising criminality and endangering the entire nation.
According to him, entering talks with bandits signals weakness, encouraging more kidnappings, giving criminals political relevance, undermining security agencies and destroying public trust in the state.
He said the approach had already created a dangerous business model where abductors took citizens and waited for government representatives to negotiate instead of force.
“We urge the government at all levels to stop all negotiations and covert dealings with bandits immediately and launch a coordinated, intelligence-driven national security operation to rescue victims and dismantle kidnapping networks,” he said.
