Northern Governors Launch Joint Security Effort as Yahaya Highlights Root Causes of Banditry

The Chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, has said that Nigeria’s insecurity challenges have continued to worsen because the grievances that pushed armed bandits to take up weapons were never properly examined or addressed.

In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service monitored in Kaduna, Governor Yahaya disclosed that all 19 northern governors have agreed to set up a joint regional security coordination agency. Each state will contribute ₦1 billion monthly to fund stronger, more unified responses to banditry, kidnapping, school abductions, and the widespread shutdown of educational institutions.

The decision followed a high-level meeting earlier in the week, where governors reviewed the recent surge in violence that has disrupted communities across the region.

Governor Yahaya explained that part of the insecurity crisis is rooted in the long-standing marginalisation of pastoralist communities. According to him, many of these groups suffered exclusion, harsh treatment, and a lack of justice—conditions that created resentment and left them vulnerable to recruitment by criminal networks exploiting their anger.

He stressed that achieving sustainable security requires confronting these underlying issues, including poverty, limited access to opportunities, and the absence of fair treatment for affected communities.

The governor added that the new security structure will prioritise better intelligence-sharing, coordinated patrols, and joint preventive initiatives across the northern states. He said the collaborative approach is necessary to counter criminal groups that operate across state boundaries.