Trending 
Rabiu Kwankwaso, the vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has said his administration would be willing to engage terrorists and other criminal groups in dialogue as part of efforts to address Nigeria’s security challenges if elected in 2027.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television on Monday, Kwankwaso said dialogue would complement other security measures to end violence and restore peace in affected communities.
He argued that residents of communities plagued by insecurity often knew the identities and hideouts of those responsible for attacks but were reluctant to cooperate with security agencies due to past experiences.
“You see, all these things that are happening today, if you go to localities, those places that these insecurities are happening, I can tell you people know almost everything,” he said.
“They know their locations, they know the names of all those involved, and so on and so forth.
“But what is happening now is many of the communities are even afraid to go forward and tell the security agencies or agents of what is actually happening.
“Because many of them have done that in the past, and of course, they did not enjoy it,” he added.
Kwankwaso said his administration would focus on rebuilding trust between local communities and security agencies to encourage intelligence sharing.
He added that the administration would also seek to engage terrorists and other criminal elements in an effort to persuade them to abandon violence.
“So we will give people confidence. We will work on the people, even the terrorists, and of course, the criminals themselves, to see what can be done really to discourage their action,” he said.
Asked whether such an approach would involve direct talks with terrorists, Kwankwaso said the government would be prepared to engage all parties if it helped restore peace.
He, however, stressed that dialogue would not replace the use of force where necessary, noting that the military and other security agencies would continue to be deployed whenever the situation required it.
