Key points

• Governor Sani says bandits who kill innocent citizens have no right to live and must be eliminated
• He argues that granting leniency to groups that destroy communities sets a dangerous precedent
• Sani insists security agencies must prioritize protecting law-abiding citizens above all else

Kaduna State Governor Uba Sani has called for a hardline approach to banditry, declaring that armed groups responsible for killings and abductions across the state are terrorists who deserve no second chance.

Sani made the remarks in an interview on Wednesday, arguing that the scale of violence inflicted on communities had removed any basis for leniency toward the perpetrators.

“Bandits are terrorists,” the governor said. “I don’t believe they deserve a second chance because, in my opinion, they are terrorists.”

Governor links banditry directly to terrorism

Sani drew a direct line between banditry and terrorism, saying anyone who deliberately kills civilians and destroys communities forfeits any claim to mercy. He pointed specifically to the killing of innocent residents and the abduction of women and children as evidence that security agencies must take decisive action.

“When you call them terrorists, it means they are people who have killed innocent citizens,” he said. “Certainly, they have no right to live; they must be eliminated.”

The governor stressed that the government’s primary obligation is to protect law-abiding citizens, and that obligation cannot coexist with tolerance for groups that wage deliberate violence against those same citizens.

Sani demands full force of security operations against armed groups

Sani went further, insisting that security agencies must bring the full weight of their operational capacity against armed groups operating in the region. He rejected any framing that treats banditry as a social problem requiring negotiation or rehabilitation rather than military response.

“A terrorist is a terrorist. He can kill, he can destroy and, as such, should be killed,” he added.

His comments reflect a growing frustration among northern governors with the pace of security operations against armed groups that have, in recent years, expanded their reach across Kaduna, Zamfara, Sokoto and neighboring states. Sani has previously backed stronger federal-state security coordination as a condition for rolling back bandit influence in rural communities.

The governor did not outline specific new measures in his Wednesday remarks but made clear that his administration would continue pressing security agencies to treat armed banditry as a terrorism threat requiring elimination rather than engagement.