₦airaland Forum

Obi wrong on negotiation with terrorists

IT is shocking that, despite the unspeakable atrocities committed by terrorists and bandits across Nigeria, some political leaders and opinion moulders still advocate negotiation, amnesty and reconciliation with mass murderers. This is wrong, dangerous and morally indefensible.

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, reportedly said recently that if elected President, he would negotiate with bandits who genuinely wished to surrender and embrace peace. He added that hardened insurgents who refused peace would face decisive military action.

While Obi’s distinction between repentant and unrepentant terrorists may appear pragmatic, it raises a troubling question: at what point do people who have slaughtered villagers, kidnapped schoolchildren, raped women and destroyed entire communities become deserving of negotiation?

Obi has consistently argued that terrorism and banditry are products of decades of leadership failure, poverty, unemployment, poor education, social dislocation and the erosion of governance and values. There is considerable truth in this analysis.


IT is shocking that, despite the unspeakable atrocities committed by terrorists and bandits across Nigeria, some political leaders and opinion moulders still advocate negotiation, amnesty and reconciliation with mass murderers. This is wrong, dangerous and morally indefensible.

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, reportedly said recently that if elected President, he would negotiate with bandits who genuinely wished to surrender and embrace peace. He added that hardened insurgents who refused peace would face decisive military action.

While Obi’s distinction between repentant and unrepentant terrorists may appear pragmatic, it raises a troubling question: at what point do people who have slaughtered villagers, kidnapped schoolchildren, raped women and destroyed entire communities become deserving of negotiation?

Obi has consistently argued that terrorism and banditry are products of decades of leadership failure, poverty, unemployment, poor education, social dislocation and the erosion of governance and values. There is considerable truth in this analysis.


However, poverty does not compel people to kidnap children, burn villages, massacre farmers or abduct worshippers. Millions of poor Nigerians endure hardship without resorting to murder and terrorism. Social failure may explain criminality, but it cannot excuse it.

Ironically, Obi himself demonstrated a different approach as governor of Anambra State. During his tenure, kidnappers and criminal gangs faced sustained pressure from security agencies. The state became increasingly hostile to them, forcing many to flee. He understood then that criminals retreat when confronted with force, not persuasion.

Granted, negotiation and amnesty have been employed as counterinsurgency tools in some countries. But Nigeria’s experience has largely been characterised by deception, lack of transparency and repeated betrayal.

IT is shocking that, despite the unspeakable atrocities committed by terrorists and bandits across Nigeria, some political leaders and opinion moulders still advocate negotiation, amnesty and reconciliation with mass murderers. This is wrong, dangerous and morally indefensible.

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, reportedly said recently that if elected President, he would negotiate with bandits who genuinely wished to surrender and embrace peace. He added that hardened insurgents who refused peace would face decisive military action.

While Obi’s distinction between repentant and unrepentant terrorists may appear pragmatic, it raises a troubling question: at what point do people who have slaughtered villagers, kidnapped schoolchildren, raped women and destroyed entire communities become deserving of negotiation?

Obi has consistently argued that terrorism and banditry are products of decades of leadership failure, poverty, unemployment, poor education, social dislocation and the erosion of governance and values. There is considerable truth in this analysis.



However, poverty does not compel people to kidnap children, burn villages, massacre farmers or abduct worshippers. Millions of poor Nigerians endure hardship without resorting to murder and terrorism. Social failure may explain criminality, but it cannot excuse it.

Ironically, Obi himself demonstrated a different approach as governor of Anambra State. During his tenure, kidnappers and criminal gangs faced sustained pressure from security agencies. The state became increasingly hostile to them, forcing many to flee. He understood then that criminals retreat when confronted with force, not persuasion.

Granted, negotiation and amnesty have been employed as counterinsurgency tools in some countries. But Nigeria’s experience has largely been characterised by deception, lack of transparency and repeated betrayal.

In Katsina State, the government offered amnesty to some so-called repentant bandits in 2025 in exchange for ending attacks on communities. Yet despite the agreement, the criminals returned to violence.

In January 2026, attacks were reported in Dandume, Faskari, Funtua, Jibia and Kankara, where many citizens were killed, abducted and injured. The peace agreements proved worthless.

Understandably, the Katsina State Government’s plan earlier this year to release 70 bandits facing criminal trials under a questionable peace arrangement provoked nationwide outrage. The proposal sought to consolidate agreements involving communities in about 15 local government areas ravaged by insecurity.

But what message does such an arrangement send? That the state rewards violence. That those who terrorise society can bargain their way to freedom. That victims count for less than their tormentors.

The victims of terrorism suffer psychological, emotional and economic devastation. Many lose relatives, livelihoods and homes. Entire communities are displaced.

Yet these victims are often abandoned while enormous attention and resources are devoted to rehabilitating their attackers.

Any peace arrangement that ignores justice for victims is built on sand.

IT is shocking that, despite the unspeakable atrocities committed by terrorists and bandits across Nigeria, some political leaders and opinion moulders still advocate negotiation, amnesty and reconciliation with mass murderers. This is wrong, dangerous and morally indefensible.

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in the 2027 election, Peter Obi, reportedly said recently that if elected President, he would negotiate with bandits who genuinely wished to surrender and embrace peace. He added that hardened insurgents who refused peace would face decisive military action.

While Obi’s distinction between repentant and unrepentant terrorists may appear pragmatic, it raises a troubling question: at what point do people who have slaughtered villagers, kidnapped schoolchildren, raped women and destroyed entire communities become deserving of negotiation?

Obi has consistently argued that terrorism and banditry are products of decades of leadership failure, poverty, unemployment, poor education, social dislocation and the erosion of governance and values. There is considerable truth in this analysis.


However, poverty does not compel people to kidnap children, burn villages, massacre farmers or abduct worshippers. Millions of poor Nigerians endure hardship without resorting to murder and terrorism. Social failure may explain criminality, but it cannot excuse it.

Ironically, Obi himself demonstrated a different approach as governor of Anambra State. During his tenure, kidnappers and criminal gangs faced sustained pressure from security agencies. The state became increasingly hostile to them, forcing many to flee. He understood then that criminals retreat when confronted with force, not persuasion.

Granted, negotiation and amnesty have been employed as counterinsurgency tools in some countries. But Nigeria’s experience has largely been characterised by deception, lack of transparency and repeated betrayal.

In Katsina State, the government offered amnesty to some so-called repentant bandits in 2025 in exchange for ending attacks on communities. Yet despite the agreement, the criminals returned to violence.

In January 2026, attacks were reported in Dandume, Faskari, Funtua, Jibia and Kankara, where many citizens were killed, abducted and injured. The peace agreements proved worthless.

Understandably, the Katsina State Government’s plan earlier this year to release 70 bandits facing criminal trials under a questionable peace arrangement provoked nationwide outrage. The proposal sought to consolidate agreements involving communities in about 15 local government areas ravaged by insecurity.

But what message does such an arrangement send? That the state rewards violence. That those who terrorise society can bargain their way to freedom. That victims count for less than their tormentors.

The victims of terrorism suffer psychological, emotional and economic devastation. Many lose relatives, livelihoods and homes. Entire communities are displaced.

Yet these victims are often abandoned while enormous attention and resources are devoted to rehabilitating their attackers.

Any peace arrangement that ignores justice for victims is built on sand.


If negotiations must ever occur, they should only come from a position of overwhelming strength. Terrorists must first be subdued, degraded and rendered incapable of imposing their will. Negotiation without victory is surrender.

Perhaps Obi sought to accommodate those who believe that some low-risk fighters were coerced into joining armed groups. It is also possible that, in the heat of politics, his remarks were influenced by the search for northern political support.

Some northern leaders have repeatedly advocated dialogue with bandits, comparing it with the amnesty granted to Niger Delta militants in 2009. The comparison is false.

The Niger Delta militants were agitators demanding resource control and political concessions. The bandits and terrorists terrorising northern Nigeria are organised criminal gangs engaged in murder, kidnapping, extortion and mass violence. Their activities contain no legitimate political grievance.

They are criminals, pure and simple.

Indeed, terrorism, armed robbery and treason rank among the gravest offences known to the law. Armed robbery and treason attract the death penalty in Nigeria because they threaten both lives and the state itself. Terrorism combines both crimes: it attacks innocent citizens while simultaneously challenging the authority and sovereignty of the state.

If armed robbers and traitors can face death under the law, why should terrorists who massacre entire communities be rewarded with rehabilitation packages, financial support and reintegration programmes?

Moreover, experience has shown that some supposedly repentant terrorists return to the forests after rehabilitation, providing intelligence and operational support to their former groups.

There have also been persistent allegations that some ex-terrorists reintegrated during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari later became moles and collaborators.

Terrorists do not deserve mercy. They do not deserve compensation. They do not deserve amnesty. They deserve justice.

What Nigeria requires is the total defeat and annihilation of terrorist networks. This demands stronger intelligence gathering, improved surveillance capabilities, sophisticated weapons systems, modern technology and better coordination among security agencies. Equally important are improved welfare, training and motivation for military personnel risking their lives to defend the country.

Negotiation has repeatedly failed because it confers legitimacy on criminals and projects weakness on the part of the state. No collection of outlaws should ever become more powerful than the government.

The duty of the state is not to bargain with those who murder its citizens. It is to protect the innocent, punish the guilty and uphold justice.

There can be no lasting peace without justice, and there can be no justice where terrorists are treated with compassion while their victims are forgotten. The path to security is not appeasement but decisive victory

https://www.punchng.com/obi-wrong-on-negotiation-with-terrorists/

Obi is an idiot .

There's no more characters needed .

OBI don't know anything about security, always speaking to media immediately after overdose of tramadol

He wants to negotiate with the Boko Haram that want Islamic state. Chai

I actually stopped having issue with Obi but those who are still supporting him upon how it's glaring the man is just so empty

Obi has no record of responding to and governance related questions with coherency

Annoyingly abi na disgustingly, you will see his supporters defending the rubbish their principal said. As if they don't even process things logically anymore

Without the emergence of APC, we wouldn’t have know how low Nigeria was capable of going.

Sad!☹️

yarimo:
OBI don't know anything about security, always speaking to media immediately after overdose of tramadol

Peter Obi will ALWAYS be a particular person of fear to you.

While obi is entitled to his views, on this issue I disagree with him that those who have killed fellow citizens should be threated with kid gloves

MemphitzDgreat1:
Peter Obi will ALWAYS be a particular person of fear to you.

same way they fear nnamdi kanu till they lock him up n throw the keys away

U people picture bullshit in your head n see it as reality

tesseract:
I didn't read the nonsense posted by the op, there was no need. I just scrolled down the thread and saw all the street urchins held up in one place, all with their pencils in their hands, helplessly wonking to the name of Obi like the zombs that they are. I shook my head in pity and smiled....😊😊😊😊.

The fact is Obi will continue to be your nightmare, your pain and your heartache. He will continue giving you guys palpitations every time you hear his name....😂😂😂😂

same way nnamdi kanu gave people headache till they lock him up n throw away the keys

U people imagine rubbish in your head n start running around like headless dog with it.

Your obi go chop better wotowoto in 2027

tesseract:
I didn't read the nonsense posted by the op, there was no need. I just scrolled down the thread and saw all the street urchins held up in one place, all with their pencils in their hands, helplessly wonking to the name of Obi like the zombs that they are. I shook my head in pity and smiled....😊😊😊😊.

The fact is Obi will continue to be your nightmare, your pain and your heartache. He will continue giving you guys palpitations every time you hear his name....😂😂😂😂

Obi will offer amnesty to Fulani terrorists and BH/ISWAP all in a bid to get Kanu released

If he made this statement directly to northerners, who are suffering the carnage, they will stone him

He thinks by offering such statements , northerners especially Hausa and northern Christians will support him


This is how stupid he is not to understand that the very bulk of northerners be the Muslim or Christian are not in any way sympathetic to the terrorists and bandits

DomPerignon:
Obi is an idiot .

There's no more characters needed .

na frustration sign be this ,use this to recover before December