Sokoto State: The noose is tightening around bandits
By Lawal Jet Kaugama
There comes a time in the life of a nation, and indeed a state, when leadership must be measured not by the power of its rhetoric but by the firmness of its resolve. Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State has, once again, demonstrated that his administration belongs to that rare category of governance defined by courage, consistency, and an unrelenting commitment to the safety of ordinary citizens.
Speaking on Thursday while declaring open the 8th regular meeting of the State Executive Council, Governor Aliyu made a declaration that should resonate across every household in Sokoto and beyond: his administration will not relent in the fight against banditry until every displaced person returns home.
This is not the language of a leader merely managing a crisis. It is the language of a commander determined to end one.
For too long, banditry has cast a dark shadow over Nigeria’s North-West, uprooting families, emptying farmlands, and turning once-thriving communities into ghost towns. Sokoto, like many of its neighbours, has felt this pain acutely. Yet where some leaders have chosen the comfortable path of platitudes and periodic condolence visits, Governor Aliyu has chosen the harder, more honourable road: sustained, strategic engagement with security forces, backed by real investment in the tools they need to win the battle against evil forces..
We acknowledge Abubakar Bawa, the Director General of Media and Publicity and his team, at Government House, Sokoto, for the clarity and transparency with which this update was communicated to the public. Nowadays when information about security operations is often shrouded in secrecy or reduced to vague assurances, Bawa’s briefing offered Sokoto residents something increasingly rare: verifiable, specific evidence of progress.
Naming Rabah, Tureta and Kebbe as local government areas where bandits have been directly engaged, captives rescued, and thousands of rustled livestock recovered is not just a propaganda, but evidence-based.
This is what accountable communication should look like, and it is a credit to the governor’s administration that it chooses to report progress in such concrete terms rather than hiding behind generalities.
When a government tells its people exactly where security gains are being made, it signals confidence born of genuine results, not empty boasting designed to placate an anxious public.
The provision of new armoured vehicles and additional hardware to security agencies further underscores that Governor Aliyu’s commitment goes beyond words. Security operatives cannot pursue armed bandits through Sokoto’s forests and rural terrain with good intentions alone; they need equipment, mobility, and logistical supports. Therefore, investing directly in these capabilities, the governor is placing the state’s resources exactly where they are needed most: behind the men and women risking their lives daily to reclaim Sokoto’s peace and spiritual standing in the country.
Equally commendable is the governor’s refusal to treat security as an isolated agenda. His administration continues to advance its 9-Point Agenda across healthcare, education, road infrastructure, water supply, religious affairs and empowerment programmes, proving that peace and development are being pursued hand in hand.
A government that secures its territory while neglecting its people’s welfare offers only half a solution. Governor Aliyu appears determined to deliver both.
Perhaps most striking is the governor’s framing of the ultimate goal, not merely to suppress banditry temporarily, but to ensure that internally-displaced persons can finally return to their ancestral homes. This is a humane and deeply personal standard for measuring success. It is not enough to record statistics of bandits neutralised or livestock recovered; the true test is whether a farmer in Rabah can once again till his land without fear, whether a mother in Tureta can send her children to school without dread, whether families scattered by years of terror can finally come home to their livelihoods.
Sokoto State, under Governor Ahmed Aliyu, is charting a path that others grappling with insecurity would do well to study. It is a path built on collaboration with security agencies rather than mere directives to them, on transparent communication rather than silence, and on tangible investment rather than empty promises. As the governor rightly noted, the vision is for a “New Sokoto” that future generations will be proud of.
Judging by the resolve on display, that vision is steadily, determinedly, taking shape. Bandits hiding in Sokoto should take note that this administration is not slowing down on its fight against the activities of evil forces operating in the globally revered Sultanate.
Lawal Jet Kaugama, a commentator on national issues, writes from Kano. He can be reached on law[email protected]