Authorities in Zamfara State, northwest Nigeria, pledged to offer two cows for every weapon returned, in an effort to stop the bloody criminal gangs ’attacks.
"For every rifle provided by a penitent thief, he will receive compensation from two cows," Zamfara Governor Belo Mataawali said Thursday.
For years, isolated communities in the area have been targeted by armed groups, including kidnappers and cattle robbers.
According to Mataawali, this show aims to persuade gangsters known as "bandits" to surrender their weapons.
The authorities intensified their military and peace negotiations to end the killings, but to no avail so far.
Currently, there is no indication that this strategy is sufficient to get the bandits, the majority of whom are Fulani herders (ethnic groups), to abandon their activities in cattle rustling and kidnappings for ransom.
Since 2011, nearly 8,000 people have been killed and some 200,000 have fled northwest Nigeria, due to the unrest that experts attribute to overcrowding and climate change.
President Muhammad Bukhari pledged to end the killings after the escalation of attacks in the neighboring state of Katsina.
In the face of repeated cattle rustling, some local residents have formed groups to defend themselves and have been accused of carrying out extrajudicial killings.