Kaduna State has adopted a non-kinetic peace model offering education, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities to bandits instead of ransom payments, according to Kaduna Commissioner for Information, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki.
Kaduna State Commissioner for Information, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, has said the state government opted to offer bandits education, healthcare, and livelihood support instead of ransom payments as part of efforts to curb killings and kidnappings across the state.
Speaking at a one-day workshop on Peace Journalism organised by the NUJ Correspondents’ Chapel in partnership with the Global Peace Foundation Nigeria, Maiyaki described the initiative, known as the Kaduna Peace Model, as a shift from confrontation to dialogue. “You cannot bomb peace into existence; you must build it with trust,” he said.
He revealed that between 2015 and 2023, the state recorded 1,160 security incidents that claimed 4,876 lives, while 142 schools and 192 health centres were shut down due to insecurity. Through the joint ONSA–Kaduna Peace Committee, over 500 captives were freed without ransom, he added.
Maiyaki cited former bandit leaders like Jan Bros and Yellow One Million who now serve as peace mediators. “The peace model works because it is owned by the people,” he said.
Guest speakers, including Mrs. Fatima Omone Shuaibu and Rev. Joseph John Hayab, urged journalists to promote unity-driven and solution-oriented reportage that strengthens national healing.