Kwankwaso: We Will Talk to Everyone, Even Terrorists, to Stop Insecurity

Former Kano State Governor and NDC vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 election, Rabiu Kwankwaso, says his government will be open to talking with terrorists and other criminals if they win in 2027.

He mentioned this as part of a larger plan to stop the attackers and address Nigeria’s growing insecurity.

Kwankwaso shared his views during an interview on Channels Television on Monday. He explained how his government would handle insecurity across the country.

He pointed out that people in communities facing insecurity often know who is behind the attacks. But many are too scared to share this information with the security forces.

“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.

He added that the silence from residents comes from their past experiences.

“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.”

Kwankwaso said his government would focus on rebuilding trust between the communities and the security forces.

He stated that this would involve direct talks with terrorists and criminals to discourage them from carrying out more attacks and encourage them to drop their weapons.

“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.

When asked if he would engage with terrorists, Kwankwaso responded, “Of course, we will talk to everybody.”

He also said that being open to talks would not stop military action when needed.

“And of course, if there is any issue that will require the services of the military or other security agencies, I can tell you, we will be very happy to do it,” he said.