Dr. Bashir Kurfi, Convener of the Katsina Community Security Initiative, has alleged that the Katsina State Government sponsored some notorious bandit leaders to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, spending as much as N10 million on each individual.
Kurfi made the claim during an interview on Trust TV’s live podcast, where he discussed insecurity, government engagement with armed groups and efforts to curb banditry in Nigeria’s North West.
According to him, several bandit leaders have maintained contact with government officials and have at different times participated in meetings and negotiations with authorities despite their alleged involvement in violent crimes across the region.
Referring to a bandit leader identified as Audu Lankai, Kurfi said: “Audu Lankai is one of the biggest bandits. The government meets with him. The government sits with him. Government allows committees to go and sit and do these kinds of things with them.”
He further claimed that security agencies and authorities know the identities and whereabouts of many of the bandit leaders.
“They are not in the bush or in the rocks. They are staying in places people know. Everybody knows them. Their parents are alive. People know where they come from,” he said.
Kurfi also mentioned another bandit leader identified as Mohammed, alleging that he continued to hold discussions with government officials even after being linked to major criminal activities.
The security advocate, however, stirred further controversy when he alleged that some notorious bandits were sponsored by the Katsina State Government to perform Hajj.
“In Katsina, it is alleged that the government paid about N10 million for each bandit to go to Saudi Arabia for Hajj,” Kurfi said.
When asked whether he had evidence to support the allegation, he admitted it remained an allegation but insisted that several notorious bandits were seen in Saudi Arabia during the pilgrimage.
“Let them say that some of these big bandits like Manuri and this guy around the Ranka area were not in Saudi Arabia. Many of them were there. I don’t know whether they are back,” he said.
Asked if the alleged sponsorship was part of a peace initiative aimed at encouraging the bandits to renounce violence, Kurfi rejected the notion.
“No, maybe to ridicule the religion,” he said.
“How can you be a murderer if you don’t have any faith? Then they take you to Mecca and call you an Alhaji. They allow you to fly from a Nigerian airport and come back through a Nigerian airport. These are people who not only kill civilians, but they also kill military personnel.”
Kurfi also advocated for stronger community based security arrangements, arguing that local vigilantes and security volunteers should be recruited from within their communities because residents are better placed to identify suspicious individuals and criminal elements.
His remarks come amid ongoing debates over the use of negotiations, amnesty programmes and other non military approaches by some northern states in tackling banditry and kidnapping.
