Malami Reveals Why Bandits Are Yet To Be Declared As Terrorists

The Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, has revealed why the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has not officially declared bandits as terrorists.

Malami on Tuesday stated that his office is in the process of announcing the court judgement that directed the Federal Government to declare bandits as terrorists.

The AGF, while speaking on NTA Good Morning Nigeria Show, said the process would be concluded in a matter of days.

Recall that Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court on November 26, 2021, granted an ex parte application by the Federal Government for Yan Bindiga (Hausa word for gunmen) and Yan Ta’adda (Hausa word for terrorists) to be declared as terrorists.

Malami in his statement on Tuesday said the government acted swiftly in declaring IPOB and Boko Haram as terror groups because of the “threats to lives and properties they have caused in the nation.”

He said, “Government has a responsibility to act but within the context of acting, you equally expected to operate within the confines of international best practices associated with engagement and one of such best practices is that you can only use maximum force on groups, individuals that are declared terrorists and that is where the application of the Terrorism Act comes in place.

“With that in mind, Nigeria acted, first by proscribing IPOB, taking into consideration the threats to lives and properties they have caused in the nation. Boko Haram was proscribed.”

The AGF noted that the “good results” arising from outlawing IPOB and Boko Haram buoyed the government to consider the proscription of bandits, and the use of military hardware against the marauders.

He said, “Now, we are confronted with another threat in the North-West associated with banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and in all these, these people are using weapons to attack Nigerians, kidnap them and created a situation of serious security challenge and fear in the system.

“Whatever military hardware you acquire there are limits within the context of the international convention as to how it can be used when it can be used and against who it can be used. And that is how the idea of looking at the activities of the bandits, cattle rustlers, kidnappers come into being.

“Our assessment taking into consideration that they are causing a major threat to the territorial peaceful co-existence and causing a major threat to lives with weapons, the idea then came about that indeed they (bandits) have satisfied the criteria of being declared terrorists within the context of the law so that whatever military hardware at the disposal of the Federal Government can best be used against them within the context of the international convention and within the context of the law.”

Malami while speaking on why his office has not acted on the court order declaring bandits as terrorists said, “The gazetting of a court order or judgement is a process but what matters fundamentally within the context of the international convention is the judicial declaration and that has been obtained; the court has declared bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers as terrorists.

“So, with or without the gazette, what gives effect to such declaration is a judicial pronouncement but the gazette is a mere formality and it has been on and I believe within a matter of days, it will be concluded.”