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A former Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brigadier General Maharazu Tsiga (Retd), has stated that terrorists and terrorism can be defeated by the government if efforts towards it are in place.
The retired military officer was once a victim of kidnapping by terrorists along with nine others on February 5 2025, in his residence in Tsiga town, Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State.
Following negotiations and a community-driven ransom effort supported by serving and retired military officers, he spent 56 days in captivity before being freed and handed over to authorities in Abuja on April 2, 2025.
Speaking on whether negotiations should remain part of the country’s counter-banditry strategy, Tsiga said security challenges cannot be addressed through dialogue with terrorists.
“If I understand your question from the negotiating aspect, whether it is important or not important, security is a collective responsibility. It depends on who you are negotiating with and how committed and dedicated we are in making that negotiation,” he said.
However, drawing from his experience in captivity, the retired general argued that “bandits are not invincible and can be defeated through sustained military pressure.”
“The way I look at these people, especially while I was in captivity, I am telling you that no matter what and no matter the arrangement of negotiation, we are not going to have it easy with these bandits. We must follow them aggressively. We should not forget one thing: these people are human beings like us. They fear death. When we were in captivity, they feared death. They feared anybody who would come and challenge them, fight them and finish them”, he said.
“If instead of negotiation we remove that fear and face them squarely, as the general said in his speech, I think we will sort that one out”, he added.
Tsiga noted that the challenge goes beyond the bandits themselves, insisting that attention must also be focused on those allegedly providing information and logistical support to the criminal groups.
Stressing that Security is a collective responsibility, it is not only the bandit that matters, but there are also people around them assisting them, there are informers,”, he then asked, “if you negotiate and the informers are still having money in their pockets, what is there?”
The Ex-NYSC boss then narrated an encounter he claimed occurred while he was being held captive by the bandits.
According to him, one night at about 2 a.m., a conversation took place involving a suspected supplier and a bandit leader.
