How can ‘bandit’ attacks be stopped in northern Nigeria?

Armed groups have terrorised people in central and northwestern Nigeria for years.

The so-called “bandits” burn down villages, steal cattle and kidnap people for ransom.

The government appears to be struggling to stop a rise in attacks.

Gunmen killed at least 200 people in Zamfara state on Tuesday, in an apparent retaliation for military air raids on the armed groups’ hideouts.

So what’s behind the assaults and what can be done to stop them?

Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom

Guests:

Mike Ejiofor – Former director of Nigeria’s State Security Service

Bulama Bukarti – Analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

Aliyu Musa – Independent researcher on conflict and Nigerian politics