A Nigerian civil society organisation has raised concerns that recent bandit attacks in Kano State could destabilise the region’s economic stronghold and fuel wider insecurity across Northern Nigeria.
Citizens Participation Against Corruption Initiative (CPACI), speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Monday, said attacks in Shanono, Bagwai and Tsanyawa Local Government Areas marked a dangerous infiltration into what had long been considered one of the North’s most secure territories.
CPACI Executive Director, Bishir Dauda, described Kano as the “economic backbone” of the North and warned that allowing the state to fall into the grip of banditry would have severe consequences.
“This development risks pushing Kano into the ranks of states plagued by violent insecurity, with the entire North-West at risk of being engulfed,” Dauda said.
He expressed concern that while communities faced rising threats, some politicians were attempting to politicise the situation rather than support a unified response. Dauda called on security agencies to investigate claims made by the Kano State Government that certain political figures had links to the worsening security situation.
He accused those allegedly stirring insecurity for political gain of acting as “enemies of democracy and stability”, and criticised calls for militia-style formations under the cover of strengthening Hisbah, warning that such moves could ignite internal conflict.
Dauda said the attacks in Kano were partly a spillover from neighbouring Katsina, where informal peace deals struck by some communities had emboldened bandits rather than reducing violence. Such agreements, he argued, were worsening insecurity because they lacked government supervision and did not include disarmament or rehabilitation plans.
“It is illogical for Jibia and Batsari to enjoy fragile peace while Tsanyawa and Shanono are being attacked. The peace deal approach is failing,” he said.
The organisation recommended that any future engagement with bandits must enforce disarmament, rehabilitation and reintegration of genuinely repentant fighters. Dauda also urged federal and state authorities to harmonise their policies for a clear and coordinated security response.
He further called for intensified military and police operations against unrepentant armed groups, alongside comprehensive non-kinetic strategies supported at all levels of government.
