Jafar Sani Bello, a former governorship hopeful on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in Kano State, has appealed to Nigerians to stop attaching crime to ethnicity or religion, insisting that wrongdoing should be judged strictly on individual actions.
Speaking during an interview on Friday, February 13, 2026, Bello emphasized that criminal behaviour has no tribe, faith, or region. According to him, a terrorist remains a terrorist regardless of where they come from, and a criminal should simply be called a criminal nothing more, nothing less.
He warned that sweeping labels often harm innocent people and deepen social divisions. Drawing from personal experience as a Fulani man, Bello said he feels directly affected whenever all Fulani herdsmen are branded as bandits.
“If people say Fulani herdsmen are criminals, they are automatically including people like me who have nothing to do with violence,” he explained. “I do not associate with criminals, and I strongly condemn their actions. There is no justification for demonizing entire communities because of the misconduct of a few.”
Bello urged both the public and security agencies to focus on identifying and prosecuting individual offenders rather than profiling whole ethnic groups. He stressed that collective blame only fuels resentment and distracts from the real task of tackling insecurity.
His comments come at a time when Nigeria is experiencing a worrying rise in organized violence, particularly in the northern regions. In just the first six weeks of 2026, armed groups reportedly stepped up attacks on schools and places of worship.
Recent figures show a sharp increase in school kidnappings compared to late 2025, with hundreds of students believed to be held captive in forest camps. Churches have also been targeted during services, resulting in casualties and mass displacement of residents.
The attackers are said to be using advanced weapons to overpower local security, creating widespread fear and forcing more than 130 schools to shut down across parts of the North.
Against this backdrop, Bello reiterated his call for unity and fairness, insisting that Nigeria can only overcome insecurity by confronting criminals directly without resorting to ethnic or religious stereotypes.
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