The Kaduna State Government has revealed that, as part of its strategy to end years of killings and kidnappings, it offered bandits access to education, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities, not cash payments, under a non-kinetic peace initiative aimed at restoring stability across the state.

Commissioner for Information, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, disclosed this at a one-day workshop on Peace Journalism organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Kaduna State, in collaboration with the Global Peace Foundation Nigeria and the Kaduna State Ministry of Information.

Maiyaki explained that the approach, tagged the Kaduna Peace Model, represented a shift from confrontation to conversation, with the focus on rebuilding communities through trust, dialogue, and development rather than financial appeasement.
“You cannot bomb peace into existence; you must build it with trust,” he said.

According to him, the turning point came when leaders of armed groups asked the government to reopen markets, schools, and healthcare centres previously shut down due to insecurity.
“We agreed because these are basic human needs, not ransom payments. We didn’t give them a dime. What we gave was life back to communities long abandoned,” he stated.

The commissioner noted that between 2015 and 2023, Kaduna recorded 1,160 security incidents that led to 4,876 deaths, with thousands kidnapped or displaced. In 2021 alone, 1,192 people were killed and 3,348 abducted, prompting the closure of 142 schools and 192 health facilities.

He said the state, once declared a “red zone” by the international community, was gradually reclaiming its image through a peace-driven strategy anchored on intelligence sharing, dialogue, and socio-economic inclusion in partnership with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).

Through the joint ONSA–Kaduna Peace Committee, Maiyaki disclosed that more than 500 captives were safely released via negotiations — without ransom payments or military force.
“We are seeing trust where there was fear, and cooperation where there was hostility,” he added.

He also cited the involvement of former bandit leaders such as Jan Bros and Yellow One Million, who now serve as community peace mediators helping to maintain stability in previously volatile areas.
“The peace model works because it is owned by the people. Communities co-create peace instead of having it dictated by government,” he said.
Maiyaki further noted that over 500,000 hectares of farmland had been recovered, with agricultural and commercial activities revived in Giwa, Birnin Gwari, and Kauru Local Government Areas.
“Markets have reopened, and 20 to 30 cattle trucks now move weekly on roads once feared by travellers,” he said, adding that every reopened school, clinic, or market represented a “victory over fear,” proving that inclusion and dialogue could achieve what brute force could not.
“Our people wanted dignity, not pity,” he said. “Once they saw sincerity, they embraced peace.”

He clarified that the peace process was not a one-off truce but an ongoing engagement involving district heads, clerics, and local leaders to prevent a relapse into violence.
“We are not declaring victory,” he quoted Governor Uba Sani as saying. “We are declaring commitment.”
Maiyaki concluded that the Kaduna Peace Model had become a living, evolving process rooted in trust and shared ownership.
“Peace is cheaper, deeper, and more enduring when people have a stake in it,” he said. “The Kaduna experience proves that security without humanity is insecurity in disguise.”