Buying peace or building peace? AmnesBuying peace or building peace? Amnesty deals and the rising armed banditry in Northwestern Nigeria ty deals and the rising armed banditry in Northwestern Nigeria

In light of the failure of the Nigerian military in containing the bandits in the northwest, the nonmilitary solution was advanced as an alternative to address the violence. This came in the form of amnesty deals involving “financial settlement”, among others, for the bandits in exchange for peace. However, rather than containing the crisis, the amnesty deal acted in opposite direction, leading to its escalation. It is in this context that this study interrogates the changing dynamics of banditry in the region. It contends that three interrelated factors were responsible for the failure of the amnesty deals. First, the bandits are cluster groups without any identifiable central leadership, thus, amnesty for some groups only encourage the proliferation of more groups for material accumulation. Secondly, the intricate linkage between banditry in northwest and terrorism in the northeast has implication for the escalation of the crisis. Lastly, lack of commitment to the deals by bandit groups who operate transnationally without respect or recognition for national laws or governments. The study recommends a new approach through which banditry can be curbed in Nigeria. Keywords: Amnesty deal, banditry, security, northwestern Nigeria