Social Security as Panacea for Ending Banditry and Restoring Community Cohesion in Nigeria Muhammad Abdullahi Department of Public Administration, University of Maiduguri – Nigeria bb2them@gmail.com Introduction The current waves of banditry in Nigeria have continued to be a source of worry not only to the affected states but also the entire country. What governments are doing to contain the ugly situation proves ineffective. It is an unfortunate situation the entire country is experiencing and the rate of criminality increased in various states, especially northern region, almost on daily basis. Contrary to the false claims of stability presented by Nigerian government, the country is in deep trouble. Insecurity is so palpable that analysts around the world are drawing parallels with bigger terrorism cases worldwide. Undeniably, a larger part of the vast Northern region is collapsing, with the State actors having to contest for control with non-State actors in several states. Numerous bandit groups exist in north-west and north-central regions of Nigeria, but they do not have any central authority and there is little to suggest collaboration between them. The groups have different operational capacities and technical capabilities, and are mostly clandestine in their operations. Their main activities are cattle rustling, kidnapping civilians for ransom, armed attacks and community invasion. Governments have adopted numerous military and other non-military strategies to stamp out banditry. But the increasing activity and violence of the groups indicate that the government’s efforts have failed to achieve the desired results.