President Bola Tinubu has been tasked to charge his service chiefs to deepen non-kinetic approach in the fight against banditry.

Increased collaboration among traditional institutions, security agencies and community leaders was also canvassed.

The above formed part of the recommendations by researchers, who investigated Armed Bandits and Banditry in Nigeria: History, Character and Panacea using TETFUND Grant (TETF/ES/DR&D CE/NRF/2020/HSS/03/VOL.1).

They found that there were reported successes where inter-agency collaboration was hugely embraced.

Led by their principal investigator, Prof. Olajide Akanji, the researchers, including Prof. Rasidi Okunola, Prof. Bentina Mathias, Prof. Bukola Adesina, Dr Nathaniel Danjibo, Prof. Adebimpe Adenugba, and Prof. Oludayo Tade, advised government at the federal and state levels to ensure that adequate support for long-term rehabilitation and resettlement of victims of banditry are made.

The researchers, who collected data from the North-west, North-central, South-east, and South-west zones, stressed the need for regular deployment, monitoring, and surveillance of communities prone to banditry.

They added that data have shown that bandits attack communities very early or late in the night while others attack communities on market days with a view to hijacking food, kidnapping, and displacing communities.

While noting that it was important for the government to prioritise the welfare of security agents nationwide, the researchers advised the current administration to invest in technology such as drones and implement satellite-enhanced surveillance and monitoring of hard-to-reach locations.

Speaking further, the principal investigator stated that participants called for strict penalties such as death for bandits and their informants to serve as deterrents to others.