According to him, negotiating with armed groups and granting them legitimacy amounts to rewarding violence and substituting justice with expediency.
Human rights lawyer, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has condemned the reported release of 70 suspected bandits and jihadist terrorists by the Katsina State government, describing the move as a dangerous policy capable of further destabilising Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Ejiofor said the release, allegedly carried out under the guise of a “peace accord”, was an ominous signal that could imperil the fragile stability of the country, particularly the northern region.
According to him, negotiating with armed groups and granting them legitimacy amounts to rewarding violence and substituting justice with expediency.
He warned that such actions send a clear message that arms, bloodshed and lawlessness had become viable bargaining tools in engagements with the Nigerian state.
Ejiofor further questioned whether the Nigerian government and national security agencies were complicit in, or had silently acquiesced to, the alleged deal, noting that the absence of a firm repudiation raised concerns of official endorsement.
He said Nigerians deserved a clear and constitutionally grounded explanation from the Nigerian government.
Drawing a contrast, the lawyer decried what he described as the continued unlawful detention of thousands of Igbo youths, women and men across the country.
He cited the recent confirmation by the Department of State Services (DSS) of the death of Mrs. Calista Ifedi while in detention at the Wawa Barracks facility in Niger State.
Mrs. Ifedi, he said, was arrested alongside her husband on November 23, 2021, over allegations of selling food to persons labelled as IPOB members, and was never arraigned before a court throughout her detention.
Ejiofor alleged that she and many other Igbo detainees were held without trial under the previous administration.
He said Mr. Ifedi only regained his freedom following recent reforms by the current DSS Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, aimed at profiling and releasing detainees held without legal basis, adding that he was informed of his wife’s death just days ago.
Ejiofor accused political leaders from the South-East of remaining silent in the face of what he termed grave injustice, urging governors in the region to investigate and demand accountability for the continued detention of their people.
He maintained that where culpability is established, suspects should be prosecuted openly and in line with due process.
Warning of broader implications, Ejiofor said any state that negotiates with terrorists from a position of fear rather than authority risks conceding its sovereignty.
He cautioned that appeasement of terror historically emboldens violent actors rather than neutralising them.
He also expressed concern over reports that further negotiations were underway for the release of additional detained terrorists, describing Nigeria as sitting “precariously upon a keg of gunpowder.”
“If this perilous initiative is not promptly halted by the Federal Government,” he warned, “the grim prospect looms of entire swathes of the federation being ceded, piecemeal, to jihadist terror.”
Last Friday, SaharaReporters exclusively reported that a fresh controversy had broken out in Katsina State following the surfacing of an official document indicating that the state government initiated steps to secure the release of dozens of suspected bandits currently facing criminal trials.
The document, a letter dated January 2, 2026, and classified as “SECRET,” was issued by the Katsina State Ministry of Justice and addressed to the Chief Judge of the state.
It shows that the ministry requested the intervention of the Administration of Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC) to facilitate the release of the detained suspects.
Signed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Abdur-Rahman Umar, Esq., the letter disclosed that a list containing the names of 48 individuals accused of various banditry-related offences had been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice by the Ministry of Internal Security and Home Affairs.
According to the letter, the proposed release of the suspects is aimed at “facilitating their release from detention, as one of the conditions precedent for the continuance of the peace accord deal signed between the frontline local governments and the bandits.”
The Ministry of Justice further revealed that while a handful of the suspects had been arraigned before the Federal High Court, most remain in detention awaiting trial at various Magistrate Courts across Katsina State.
The letter also disclosed that a separate list of about 22 inmates currently facing trial before different High Courts in the state was submitted, with the aim of having them released under the same peace arrangement.
Meanwhile, the state government explained that its decision to initiate the release of 70 individuals suspected of involvement in banditry is aimed at sustaining ongoing peace agreements with armed groups operating in the state.
The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasir Muazu, said the measure was intended to consolidate accords reached between affected communities and repentant bandits across multiple local government areas.
He noted that the broader peace deal, covering at least 15 local government areas, had already resulted in the release of about 1000 people abducted during bandit attacks.