The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, has identified youth vulnerability, intelligence gaps and the proliferation of illicit arms as major drivers of banditry, urging authorities to combine security operations with employment opportunities and stronger community-based intelligence to tackle the crisis in Sokoto State.
Ribadu said sustainable peace would require addressing the conditions that enable armed groups to recruit young people, obtain weapons, operate across borders and impose their authority on rural communities.
He spoke on Saturday at a brainstorming session on coping with banditry in Sokoto, organised by the Sokoto Advancement Forum (SAF) in collaboration with the Centre for Peace Studies, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
The NSA, represented by the Director of Legal Services in his office, Barrister Zakari Usman Mijinyawa, said the changing nature of banditry required a comprehensive response beyond conventional military operations.
According to him, bandits had expanded their activities from cattle rustling, highway robbery and kidnapping to territorial control, illegal taxation and the disruption of economic activities in rural communities.
He said Sokoto’s proximity to the Republic of Niger and the wider Sahel had added a cross-border dimension to the security challenges, particularly with the emergence of groups linked to transnational extremist networks.
Ribadu said the Federal Government’s designation of Lakurawa as a terrorist organisation underscored the need for stronger regional cooperation, effective border management and coordinated efforts to dismantle criminal networks.
“We must therefore combine intelligence-led operations, effective border management, regional cooperation and sustained action against the supply of illicit weapons and other logistical support,” he said.
He identified five priority areas for tackling insecurity: denying criminal groups safe havens, strengthening intelligence and early-warning systems, building community trust, restoring agricultural and rural livelihoods, and preventing the recruitment of young people into armed groups.
The NSA called for improved information-sharing between communities and security agencies, particularly in vulnerable areas such as Sabon Birni, Isa, Tangaza and Goronyo, where timely intelligence could help prevent attacks.
“Timely intelligence saves lives when it reaches the right authorities and triggers an effective response,” he said.
Ribadu stressed that residents must have confidence that security agencies would act on credible information, while those providing intelligence should be protected from possible reprisals.
He also called for the protection of farms, schools, markets, health facilities and rural transport routes, noting that the effectiveness of security operations should be measured by their impact on people’s daily lives.
“We must measure progress by more than arrests, weapons recovered or territory cleared,” he said.
“Success must also mean safer communities, returning families, productive farms, reopened schools, functioning markets and the restoration of public confidence.”
He commended ongoing military operations, including Operation FANSAN YAMMA, but said lasting peace would depend on coordination among the military, police, intelligence services, civil defence personnel and other authorised security actors.
Ribadu further advocated the deployment of properly trained and supervised community-based security personnel to complement conventional forces through local knowledge and surveillance.
On the proliferation of small arms, he cited figures attributed to the Director-General of the National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons, retired DIG Johnson Kokumo, indicating that 5,449 firearms had been recovered and 1,419 illicit weapons destroyed during recent nationwide operations.
He said the cumulative number of weapons destroyed since 2022 had exceeded 19,000.
The NSA also called for a sustained government presence in communities recovered from armed groups to prevent criminals from returning.
He said individuals eligible for lawful disengagement from criminal groups could be considered for rehabilitation but insisted that such interventions must not undermine accountability.
“Reintegration must never replace justice or reward violence,” he said.
In his remarks, the Chairman of the Sokoto Advancement Forum, Prof. Muhammad Ahmad Wali, said the worsening security situation had threatened agriculture, education, trade and the livelihoods of residents across the state.
Wali, a former senior officer in the Security Division of the Cabinet Office in Sokoto, recalled that the state had enjoyed relative peace during the 1980s and 1990s, when agriculture, commerce and education flourished.
He said the situation had changed significantly, with repeated attacks and abductions forcing families to flee their homes and preventing farmers from accessing their fields.
“Today, the picture is painfully different. Banditry, kidnapping and attacks on farming villages have driven families from their homes, and now threaten our lives, our livelihoods, our children’s education, our trade and the authority of government itself,” he said.
Wali disclosed that attacks had been recorded in 21 of Sokoto’s 23 local government areas, adding that figures available to the forum indicated that more than 1,100 people had been kidnapped in the state in the 12 months leading to June 2026.
He also cited the killing of the Emir of Gobir in 2024 as an indication of the growing threat armed groups posed to traditional institutions and community leadership.
The SAF chairman argued that the persistence of attacks despite military operations and other government interventions showed that no single institution could resolve the crisis independently.
“A problem this big cannot be solved by soldiers alone. But it cannot be solved without them either,” he said.
He called for a coordinated strategy involving intelligence gathering, border security, swift justice, youth employment, community participation and accountable governance.
Wali said the forum was established to complement government efforts by developing evidence-based recommendations and encouraging cooperation among stakeholders.
He disclosed that SAF had developed a five-year development plan for Sokoto State, identifying the Almajiri phenomenon, youth drug abuse and banditry as three major challenges requiring coordinated interventions.
According to him, the organisation had already held discussions on the first two issues and submitted recommendations to the government.
He urged participants to ensure that the brainstorming session produced practical commitments, with clear timelines, designated institutions and mechanisms for monitoring implementation.
“By the end of today, we should have clear decisions: who will do what, when, and how we will check that it has been done,” he said.
Wali added that the forum would compile the recommendations into a report and communiqué for presentation to government authorities, security agencies and affected communities.
Earlier, the Vice Chairman of SAF, Prof. Riskuwa Arabu Shehu, said the meeting was designed to provide a non-partisan platform for developing practical solutions to insecurity in Sokoto and other parts of the country.
Shehu said the consequences of banditry extended beyond killings and abductions to include displacement, abandoned farms, school closures, disrupted healthcare and worsening food insecurity.
Citing figures attributed to SBM Intelligence, he said a study covering July 2024 to June 2025 had documented at least 4,722 people abducted in 997 kidnapping incidents nationwide, while at least 762 people had been killed.
He said the North-West accounted for more than 60 per cent of reported kidnapping incidents during the period, with Sokoto recording 358 abductions.
Shehu also cited conflict-monitoring data indicating that security incidents had occurred in 21 of Sokoto’s 23 local government areas between January 2024 and August 2025.
He warned that the cross-border dimension of armed groups made it difficult to defeat insecurity through military force alone.
The SAF vice-chairman urged participants to avoid ethnic and religious profiling, stressing that criminal activities should not be attributed to entire communities.
He expressed optimism that the deliberations would produce recommendations capable of strengthening cooperation among stakeholders and helping residents return to farming, trading, schooling and other daily activities without fear.
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