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By Dr. Ifeanyi Michael Osuoza

Prof. Usman Yusuf’s statement is not only reckless and deeply offensive to the sensibilities of law-abiding Nigerians, it is also dangerous to national security and morally indefensible.

To describe armed bandits, who kidnap schoolchildren, massacre villagers, rape women, extort entire communities, and destabilize vast swathes of the country, as “freedom fighters” is a gross distortion of reality and an insult to the thousands of victims whose lives have been destroyed by these criminals. There is nothing liberating about mass murder, abduction for ransom, or the terrorization of innocent citizens. Criminality does not become a legitimate cause by mere rebranding.

Equally troubling is the attempt to ethnicize terror by framing armed banditry as “Fulani bandits,” while at the same time demanding immunity from decisive state action. Banditry is not a cultural grievance; it is organized crime and terrorism. The Nigerian state has a constitutional duty to protect lives and property, and that duty cannot be subcontracted to informal negotiations with armed criminals who recognize neither law nor humanity.

Prof. Yusuf’s open admission of having “entered forests” to engage bandit leaders raises grave questions. Who authorized such engagements? In what capacity were these contacts made? And on what moral or legal basis does any individual or group claim the right to negotiate on behalf of criminals while communities continue to bleed?

To suggest that the Minister of Defence should abandon military options in favour of endless dialogue is to ignore hard lessons already learnt. Dialogue without deterrence has repeatedly emboldened bandits, expanded their reach, and increased their brutality. Peace cannot be negotiated with those whose business model is violence and ransom, except from a position of overwhelming state strength.

The characterization of lawful military operations and community self-defence efforts as the true source of “devastation,” while absolving bandits of responsibility, amounts to a dangerous inversion of truth. It shifts blame from perpetrators to protectors and undermines the morale of security forces risking their lives daily to keep Nigeria from sliding into anarchy.

Nigeria is not at war with any ethnic group. Nigeria is at war with terror, criminality, and lawlessness. Any narrative that seeks to romanticize bandits, delegitimize state authority, or weaken the resolve to confront armed criminals head-on is not advocacy for peace, it is an apologia for violence.

Prof. Usman Yusuf’s statement should therefore be unequivocally rejected by all patriots who believe in justice, the rule of law, and the sanctity of human life. The Nigerian state must remain firm: criminals must be disarmed, dismantled, and brought to justice. There can be no moral equivalence between the state and those who thrive on bloodshed.

■ Dr. Ifeanyi Michael Osuoza•
18th December, 2025

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