Governor Dikko Umar Radda has a message for the bandits hiding in Katsina's forests: put down your guns and come home.

He made that appeal on Thursday while opening a massive new housing estate for people who fled their communities because of the same violence. The estate sits in Magama, Jibia Local Government Area, and it's not small — 152 houses, each with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a toilet, and a courtyard big enough for rural family life.

But Radda didn't stop at handing over keys. He looked straight at the camera and spoke to the men carrying weapons in the bush.

"To our brothers and sisters in the forests, to those who have taken the path of banditry, kidnapping and violence, hear me clearly today: the doors for dialogue, repentance and reintegration remain open," he said. "Choose your children over your weapons. Choose prosperity over destruction. Choose life."

The project is called the IDPs Housing Estate, built under the Northwest Prevention Facility Project — a partnership between the Katsina State Government and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It's not just houses. The estate also has a climate peace hub, a veterinary clinic, an entrepreneurship centre, and a 50-kilowatt mini solar grid. The idea is to give displaced families a place to live and a way to earn a living so they don't end up back in crisis.

Each household also got a grant of N200,000 to help them restart their lives. The beneficiaries — 70 women and 82 men — were chosen transparently from communities hit hardest by banditry across all eleven wards of Jibia Local Government Area.

Radda didn't pretend banditry is a simple problem. He pointed to poverty, displacement, climate change, and youth unemployment as the real drivers of the violence. "Lasting peace requires collective action," he said, calling on traditional rulers, women, youth groups, and religious leaders to report suspicious activities and resolve disputes before they escalate.

"Choose your children over your weapons. Choose prosperity over destruction. Choose life."

The Commissioner for Rural and Social Development, Abdulhamid Ahmad, said the houses were designed to reflect local culture — built the way rural Katsina families actually live. The Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasiru Danmusa, claimed security has improved so much that markets and roads are open again, people are back on their farms, and agricultural production jumped last year.

UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, Mrs. Elsie Attafuah, attended the ceremony and praised Katsina's potential. "These projects are ultimately about people — families rebuilding their lives, communities recovering from hardship, and creating opportunities for a safer and more prosperous future," she said.

The event also drew the German Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Annette Günther, and the Norwegian Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Baera — a sign that international partners are watching Katsina's approach to the crisis.

Jibia Local Government Chairman, Sirajo Ado, called the project a historic milestone. For the families moving in today, it's probably more than that. It's a roof, a courtyard, and a chance to start over — if the guns stay silent long enough to let them.