Stakeholders Validate Sokoto Peace Report, Blame Banditry, Leadership Failures

By Ankeli Emmanuel, Sokoto

Stakeholders have converged on Dankeni Hotels in Sokoto State to validate findings of a Peace and Conflict Analysis (PCA) Research Report aimed at strengthening peacebuilding and conflict prevention in the state.

The validation meeting, held on Tuesday, brought together key actors from government, civil society, security agencies, traditional institutions, and development partners under the EU-funded RECAP project implemented by International Alert in collaboration with Action Against Hunger and Save the Children Initiative.

Programme Manager, International Alert Nigeria, Mr Sunday Momoh Jimoh, said the exercise was designed to incorporate stakeholders’ inputs to produce a more credible and acceptable report.

He stressed that the study, which addresses sensitive peace and conflict dynamics, required broad-based participation to reflect ground realities.

Mr Jimoh noted that the research covered 18 local government areas, adopting a participatory and mixed-method approach to examine conflict drivers, actors, trends, and peace opportunities in Sokoto State.

Presenting the findings, PCA Data Analyst and Field Coordinator, Mr Rinji Kwarkas, disclosed that 90.82 per cent of respondents reported experiencing or witnessing conflict in their communities.

He said the report identified banditry as the most dominant form of violence at 74.4 per cent, followed by farmers-herders clashes and political conflicts at 54.5 per cent each, while resource-based disputes stood at 41.9 per cent.

Communal conflicts were reported as comparatively lower at 20.6 per cent, according to the findings.

In his goodwill message, the District Head of Gagi, Alhaji Umar Jabi, said lasting peace would only be achieved when leaders uphold justice and resist corruption.

He warned that no society could remain secure where corruption, inequality, tribalism, and denial of rights thrive unchecked.

Jabi also criticised sections of the media, alleging that some outlets had become “mouthpieces of government” rather than holding leaders accountable.

Stakeholders at the meeting included the spokesman of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Prof. Tukur Baba, members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly, security agencies, lawyers, CSOs, persons with disabilities, youth and women groups, as well as religious leaders.