Why We Dialogue With Bandits- IGP
The Inspector-General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Adamu Thursday justified the current dialogue between bandits who had killed many people in the North East and the State Governors including the security agencies, saying that it would bring peace the area.
Briefing State House Correspondents after a security meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and Security Heads including Service Chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, IGP Adamu said dialogue and negotiations were used by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua to solve the militancy problem in the Niger Delta that resulted to the amnesty programme for the repented militants.
He said that the use of kinetic action sometimes does not solve a problem rather negotiation and dialogue bring peace.
According to him, “When we are talking about peace initiative, there are a lot of things that we take into consideration, you give out something to get something. And this peace initiative has not started with the bandits in the North-Western part of this country with the bandits.
“If you remember some years back we were having issues in the Niger Delta and those issues kinetic actions could not solve the problem until amnesty and peace initiative came up and what we had had in Niger Delta had gone.
“So, I think part of a strategy to deal with challenges in terms of either security or war, there is peaceful negotiation too. So it is not that you are a bandit and on the course of the banditry you committed a crime you must be punished when there is peace initiative going on. If you refused to accept the peace initiative, of course, you have to face the consequences.”
Asked if he was comparing the Niger Delta militant agitation to the killings by bandits in the North West, he said,” It is not like comparison per se but giving an example how negotiation and dialogue can bring peace.
“Even in terms of war, you go into dialogue so as to achieve a certain level of peace, that is what I am trying to say. So if dialogue can bring peace, why do you have to use force, that is what I am just trying to say.”
On the increasing car theft and burglary in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, the IGP said,” Currently we have about 20 different points where we monitor on daily basis through CCTV Cameras within FCT and we are expanding it to cover the remaining areas.
“So one of the strategies to stop all this type of crime whether it is car theft or burglary or anything that has to do with theft in the city is the use of CCTV and constant patrol for prevention.”
