Former Kaduna Central Senator Shehu Sani has issued a stark reminder, stating that a populous nation like Nigeria estimated at over 230 million people should never be terrorised by a few thousand criminals.
Speaking on a television programme on December 4, 2025, Sani said the ongoing wave of banditry and terrorism in northern Nigeria reflects a failure of collective will among political, traditional, and community leaders. He called on northern stakeholders to confront the menace squarely rather than externalise blame.
He argued that the commonly held narrative that suspects come from abroad misrepresents reality. According to Sani, the perpetrators are mostly locals: “They speak Fulani, Hausa, and Kanuri. They are not foreigners; they are from the North.”
Sani also noted that the number of active bandits around 5,000 is far smaller than often portrayed, questioning how such a security apparatus continues to terrorise hundreds of thousands in the region. He urged creation of regional security initiatives, credible intelligence sharing, and cooperation among traditional rulers, civil society, and government to confront the crisis effectively.
The former senator argued that closures of illegal mining operations often linked to bandit financing should be only one part of a broader strategy involving both security enforcement and socio-economic interventions to address root causes.
Given the scale of the devastation to agriculture, education, and social life across the North, Sani concluded, the banditry problem should be treated as a regional emergency requiring urgent and decisive action.
