Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has declared that bandits, violent cult groups, kidnappers, foreign-linked mercenaries and other armed non-state actors will henceforth be treated as terrorists under a new security framework to be rolled out by his administration.
In the declaration, which is contained in his budget presentation to the lawmakers of the Nigerian National Assembly on Friday in Abuja, Tinubu assured Nigerians that his government would go after the enablers and not just the perpetrators of crimes in Nigeria.
“Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists,” he said.
According to him, bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cults, forest-based armed groups, and foreign-linked mercenaries will all be targeted.
“We will go after all those who perpetrate violence for political or sectarian ends, along with those who finance and facilitate their evil schemes,” he warned.
Promising of better days ahead for all Nigerians, Tinubu said that the new doctrine would “fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes”.
It will be recalled that Nigeria has been experienced a surge in crimes such as mass abductions and banditry, among others and that the government had recently declared a state of emergency on insecurity and a former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa appointed the Minister of Defence.
In spite of these developments, President Tinubu is unrelenting in his resolve for a secured and peaceful Nigeria, and has declared war on criminals.
“We will usher in a new era of criminal justice. We will show no mercy to those who commit or support acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes,” Tinubu said, promising to continue to invest in security and increase the capacity of the armed forces and other security agencies.
“To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies and boosting the effectiveness of our fighting forces with cutting-edge equipment and other hardware,” he added.
GIK/APA