Former Kano State Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso has revealed that a government led by him and Peter Obi would consider dialogue with terrorists and other criminals as part of a broader strategy to tackle insecurity if elected in the 2027 presidential election.
Kwankwaso said military action alone would not solve the country’s security challenges. However, he stressed that security agencies would continue to be deployed whenever necessary to protect lives and property.
The former presidential candidate also argued that rebuilding public trust would be essential to defeating criminal groups. Consequently, he said communities must be encouraged to work closely with security agencies without fear of retaliation.
Speaking on the security situation, Kwankwaso said many residents already know those behind attacks in their communities.
According to him, the biggest challenge is convincing them to share such information with security agencies.
He explained:
“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. They know the locations, they know the names of all those involved, and so on and so forth.”
Moreover, Kwankwaso said many people no longer trust the system because of previous experiences.
He argued that some residents who cooperated with security agencies in the past later faced difficulties.
According to him:
“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.”
Furthermore, Kwankwaso said his administration would work to restore public confidence.
He added that dialogue would also be explored as part of efforts to discourage criminal activities.
He stated:
“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 to discourage their action. So, we will have talks with the terrorists, we will talk and sit down with them, we will talk to everybody.”
His comments suggest that negotiations could complement security operations rather than replace them.
Meanwhile, Kwankwaso maintained that the military would continue to play an important role whenever force becomes necessary.
He said:
“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.”
Meanwhile, insecurity continues to rank among the biggest concerns ahead of the 2027 general election.
Issues such as terrorism, kidnapping and banditry remain major challenges across several parts of Nigeria.
Political leaders are therefore expected to present detailed security plans as campaigns gather momentum.
