Odita Sunday 
HURIWA: Kaduna Land Recovery Must Lead to Safe Return of Displaced Farmers
By Odita Sunday
The reported recovery of more than 500,000 hectares of farmland previously controlled by bandits in Kaduna State should mark the beginning of a wider effort to return displaced farmers to their homes and restore their livelihoods, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has said.
The group commended Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, and security agencies for the reported security gains, but cautioned that reclaiming farmland would mean little if residents remained unable to return safely, rebuild their homes and cultivate their land without fear of renewed attacks.
In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, on Tuesday, HURIWA said the recovery should be treated not merely as a security achievement but as an opportunity to restore the livelihoods of communities whose lives had been disrupted by years of insecurity.
“When armed groups occupy rural communities and prevent legitimate residents from accessing their homes, farms and ancestral lands, the consequences go far beyond physical displacement,” the group said.
According to HURIWA, prolonged occupation of rural communities disrupts food production, destroys household incomes, deprives children of access to education, separates families and deepens poverty.
The association therefore urged the Kaduna State Government to begin what it described as a “recover, restore and rebuild” process, starting with the identification of displaced landowners and communities and the proper documentation and verification of recovered properties.
It also called for a transparent mechanism to resolve competing ownership claims and prevent fresh occupation of the recovered areas.
HURIWA said returning residents would need more than security personnel to feel safe enough to rebuild their lives, urging the government to restore roads, schools, healthcare facilities, water, electricity and other basic infrastructure in affected communities.
It warned that leaving communities without basic services after recovering them from bandits could create conditions for renewed displacement.
The association also called for targeted support for farmers who have lost years of agricultural production to insecurity.
It urged the state government to provide returning farmers with access to seeds and other agricultural inputs, credit, farming equipment and extension services to help them restart production and contribute to the state’s food supply.
HURIWA further recommended stronger community-based early-warning systems through which residents could alert security agencies to emerging threats before they develop into major attacks.
It called for traditional rulers, religious leaders, youth organisations, women’s groups, farmers’ associations, community groups and representatives of displaced persons to be involved in efforts to rebuild trust and sustain peace.
The association stressed that military operations alone could not guarantee lasting peace, saying security gains needed to be reinforced with dialogue, justice, reconciliation, economic recovery and effective mechanisms for resolving local disputes.
HURIWA also urged authorities to pay particular attention to widows, orphans, displaced families and other victims whose homes, farms and businesses had been destroyed or abandoned because of insecurity.
It said victims deserved an opportunity to rebuild their lives rather than simply being told that their communities had been recovered.
The group equally called for the arrest and prosecution of persons responsible for terrorising communities, killing civilians, kidnapping residents, occupying private property and destroying livelihoods.
HURIWA said recovering territory should go hand in hand with efforts to ensure that those responsible for criminal activities were brought to justice in accordance with the law.
The association also appealed to the Federal Government to provide states battling rural insecurity with the intelligence, equipment, personnel and other resources required to prevent terrorists and bandits from regrouping.
While encouraging other states to examine Kaduna’s reported security approach, HURIWA cautioned that strategies should be adapted to the peculiar security and demographic circumstances of individual communities rather than copied wholesale.
The association said the real measure of Kaduna’s reported security progress would ultimately be seen in the lives of ordinary residents.
It said the gains would become meaningful when farmers could return to their fields, children could return to school, families could rebuild their homes and businesses could reopen without the constant fear of another attack.
HURIWA therefore urged Governor Sani to sustain the momentum until the recovered communities were genuinely secure and displaced residents could return, reclaim their livelihoods and live with dignity.
It described the reported recovery of the farmland as an important first step, but said the greater challenge was turning the security gains into lasting peace, restored livelihoods and functioning communities.
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