HOW THE MEDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT PROMOTE BANDITRY IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

This content analysis reveals how the media and the government promote banditry in Northern Nigeria through newspaper editorials and government activities. Three national newspapers (Leadership, Punch, and ThisDay) were randomly selected, and the last quarter of 2024 was purposively chosen for the study. It was anchored on agenda setting and framing, and mixed methods were adopted to analyze the 22 editorials extracted from the three national dailies. The data were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine the frequency of coverage, themes, victims, narrative frames, cause and consequences, and the negative roles of the media and government that promote banditry. The findings reveal that killings and abductions for ransom are the major themes of banditry, while poor governance, porous borders, and unemployment are the most causal factors that fuel banditry in the North. Insecurity (leading to loss of life, fear, and panic) are a major effect of banditry. Villagers and farmers are the major victims. Through their framing language and tone, the three newspapers glamorize banditry. The government collaborates with reporters to promote banditry. The article recommends that the media should set an objective agenda on banditry with a view to discouraging it; it should choose its language carefully to avoid using tones, frames and exaggerations that glamorize bandits and frighten the audience in the process. The government should avoid playing politics with banditry or romancing with bandits.