Adebayo Shittu, former Minister of Communications, has cautioned that granting amnesty to bandits could encourage criminal behavior and further worsen insecurity in Nigeria.
Shittu issued the warning on Wednesday during an appearance on Frontline, a current affairs programme on Eagle 102.5 FM in Ilese-Ijebu, Ogun State, in reaction to Katsina State’s recent decision to release around 70 suspected bandits under a peace arrangement.
“If you give amnesty to hundreds of criminals, you might as well open the prisons. It sends the wrong message,” Shittu said, describing such actions as counterproductive.
He argued that offering amnesty to armed criminals would embolden others to engage in crime, expecting similar concessions, and emphasized that decisive law enforcement—not negotiations—is the key to addressing insecurity.
Shittu, an indigene of Oyo State, served as Minister of Communications under the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
On the topic of recent defections from opposition parties to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Shittu attributed the shifts to internal crises within parties such as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Nobody desires a one-party state, but when parties mismanage themselves, people will move to platforms that appear more stable. That is simple arithmetic,” he added.