The Kano Concerned Journalists’ Forum (KCJF) has identified open borders, youth unemployment, herder–farmer clashes and organised criminal gangs as major reasons for the growing insecurity in Kano State.
The forum disclosed this in a communiqué issued after a high-level roundtable held on December 25, 2025, at the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) in Kano.
The meeting focused on rising cases of banditry, cross-border crime and related security threats.
Participants included retired military and police officers, security and intelligence experts, human rights advocates, government officials, community leaders and journalists.
According to the communiqué signed by the roundtable chairman, retired Brigadier Lawal Ja’afar Isa, insecurity in Kano is driven by a network of criminals involving arms dealers, drug traffickers, logistics suppliers, corrupt middlemen and local informants.
These groups operate across forests and porous borders linking Kano with other states.
The forum also noted that unemployment and economic hardship make young people easy targets for criminal recruitment, while poor coordination and weak intelligence sharing among security agencies worsen the situation.
Proposed solutions and next steps
The roundtable stressed that tackling insecurity requires better intelligence coordination, stronger community involvement, improved training and equipment for security personnel, and responsible media reporting that supports public safety.
Among its recommendations, the forum called for strengthening the Safe Corridor Initiative to involve communities in early warning, monitoring and reintegration efforts.
It also urged better intelligence sharing between states and agencies, as well as joint operations to dismantle criminal networks.
Other proposals include creating a lawful and structured watch list of suspects, improving the training and regulation of community vigilante groups, and providing modern equipment and specialised training to security operatives.
The forum further recommended youth empowerment and reintegration programmes, better data collection on security incidents, closer monitoring of criminal supply chains with neighbouring states, and clear guidelines for cooperation between the media and security agencies, including training journalists in conflict-sensitive reporting.
While praising the Kano State and Federal Governments for their response to recent security threats, the forum appealed for urgent action on its recommendations.
It also resolved to submit the communiqué and a detailed report to the Kano State governor and other authorities, and to organise a town hall meeting to widen public engagement.
