Sokoto Advises North-West to Stop Fighting Terror One State at a Time As Apparently Bandits Forgot State Boundaries

The North-West may soon discover that banditry did not receive a copy of Nigeria’s administrative map. Sokoto State’s Special Adviser on Security Matters, retired Colonel Ahmed Usman, has called for a coordinated regional approach to insecurity, warning that criminal groups move across state boundaries and that no single state can defeat the problem in isolation. Recent comments from the adviser have placed renewed emphasis on intelligence sharing, joint security efforts and cooperation among neighbouring states.

North-West Cannot Defeat Banditry by Fighting It State by State, Sokoto Warns

Usman’s latest position is straightforward: if criminal groups can operate across Sokoto, Zamfara and other parts of the North-West, security responses should also cross administrative boundaries. He urged stronger collaboration among states, including intelligence sharing, border-area surveillance, community engagement and coordinated security operations.

The argument comes against the backdrop of persistent insecurity despite significant government and security investments. In an August 22 interview, Usman said Sokoto had supplied security agencies with patrol vehicles, motorcycles, armoured vehicles and surveillance equipment, while also strengthening coordination among security agencies. He acknowledged, however, that money and equipment alone cannot solve the problem without strategy, intelligence, personnel commitment and community cooperation.

North-West Unity Gets To Defeat a Problem That Refuses to Respect Geography

The adviser has also identified informants as a major obstacle, alleging that criminal networks rely on information from within communities to plan attacks, evade security forces and navigate difficult terrain. He advocated stronger measures against those who knowingly assist such groups while simultaneously calling for greater investment in education, employment, agriculture and rural development to address conditions that can facilitate recruitment into criminal networks.

There is, therefore, an increasingly obvious lesson in the region’s security challenge: a boundary on a map may be useful for taxation, elections and government paperwork, but it does not necessarily stop criminals from moving from one state into another. The Federal Government has also reported intensified joint military and police operations against bandit groups and kidnapping syndicates across several North-West and North-Central states, underscoring the wider regional nature of the challenge.

For now, Sokoto’s message is essentially that the North-West needs to treat banditry less like a state-by-state competition and more like a common regional emergency. Whether that cooperation will translate into safer communities, better intelligence and lasting peace remains the bigger question, and OGM News NG will continue to watch for further developments.