Mr Joseph Har, Special Adviser on Security and Internal Affairs to the Governor of Benue State, Hyacinth Alia, has said the government extended an olive branch to bandits killing innocent residents across the state.

He noted that the bandits had been urged to “calm down.”

Har, who spoke in Makurdi on Wednesday, said, “We are talking to the bandits and asking them to calm down.” 

Speaking with journalists on escalating insecurity in Sankera area, particularly in the Ukum Local Government Area of the state, Mr Har said, “What we are doing now is to build back the confidence in these guys (bandits). We are asking them to come out. We are talking to them; we are engaging them.

“We have told them that what they are doing is destroying their community; it’s destroying our economy, it’s making society look ugly and it’s giving the state a bad image. So, we are going to build back the confidence in them, using the traditional institutions. In a short while, you will see results.”

Citing how Gana, a notorious arm gang leader was killed after he surrendered, Mr Har said that bandits no longer trusted the government, adding however that the government was working to have dialogue with them.

“I will refer you to the ‘Gana’ (Terwase Akwaza) era which was erroneously done. We are talking to the bandits and asking them to calm down. These bandits are having doubts but we have a governor who is sincere and honest and willing to extend hands of fellowship to everyone.

“The fact that things were done wrongly before now, does not mean that things will be continually done wrongly. We are telling them to trust this government as well as security agencies committed to a peaceful non-kinetic approach,” Mr Har said.

Earlier in the week, rampaging bandits killed at least 15 in communities in the Ukum Local Government Area of the state.

A former governor of the state, Aminu Masari, who granted amnesty to the bandits said they were unrepentant “criminals and thieves” as amnesty granted them did not stop them from their nefarious activities in the state.

“We went through with the amnesty programme because we wanted peace to reign in the state, and we did all that within our limited resources to see the initiative succeed, but peace has continued to elude the state,” Mr Masari said.