‘This is not peace, it is surrender’: Bukarti warns as armed bandits parade weapons in Katsina peace talks

Human rights lawyer Bulama Bukarti has condemned peace meetings between communities in Katsina State and armed bandit groups, warning that such engagements embolden criminals and project the Nigerian state as weak.

Recent gatherings in Jibia and Batsari local government areas drew outrage after videos and photographs showed bandits openly carrying assault rifles and other heavy weapons during supposed reconciliation talks.

Bukarti, speaking to Daily Post, said the spectacle was nothing more than intimidation.

“Bandits are coming out with dangerous weapons, tying them to their bodies, giving speeches, and recording themselves. This is terrorism in its purest form — creating fear to achieve political, ethnic, or religious goals,” he said.

He likened the display to a military parade meant to send a chilling message: “When they step out like they’re going to world war, it’s a calculated attempt to show Nigerians and the government that they are untouchable.”

The lawyer stressed that both the possession of such weapons and the so-called peace talks are illegal under Nigerian law.

“No individual has the right to own such weapons, let alone display them publicly. Even these dialogues with terrorists are unlawful because there is no legal framework that allows them,” Bukarti noted.

His remarks come after Islamic scholar Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, who has long engaged with armed groups, urged security forces not to disrupt such meetings to avoid worsening the crisis.

Bukarti strongly disagreed, warning that what is happening is not dialogue but capitulation.

“These meetings are not peace. They are submission. Every time terrorists are allowed to flaunt weapons, the Nigerian state looks weaker in the eyes of its citizens.”

He urged the government to take direct control of any negotiations, insisting that only state-led talks — with strict disarmament and rehabilitation conditions — can prevent bandits from tightening their grip.

“Leaving citizens to negotiate on their own only strengthens the criminals,” he said.

The warning underscores growing concerns over rising insecurity across northern Nigeria and the controversial practice of negotiating with armed groups.