A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has yesterday declared the activities of some groups linked to banditry activities as an act of terrorism. The controversy on whether bandits are terrorists or not has finally received judicial backing at the court of law as they have been declared “Terrorists”.
In a similar manner, President Muhammadu Buhari also yesterday gave a similar order to security chiefs directing them to bring the activities of terrorists operating in North-Central and North-West to order.
Against the backdrop, the Nigerian military was in a dilemma on whether to deploy the newly acquired Super Tucano jet fighters bought from the United States after the terrorist bandits and the gunmen operating in the North-west and the North-Central because of the agreement entered into with the US government.
The agreement was such that, the aircraft, was strictly acquired to battle the activities of Boko Haram Terrorists and the Islamic State of West African Republic (ISWAP) in the northeast but not Bandits.
During the event attended by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mery Beth Leonard, the US principal National Security Advisor, Jonathan Finer, disclosed that the terms of the agreement during the sale of the said jet fighters were crystal clear.
Finer was reacting to whether the Tucano Jet can be used against secessionists in the southeast.
In his statement, “We are pleased to deepen our security cooperation with the Nigerian government. I think we made it very clear our expectations about this platform where it would be used and in the right way and we are always raising concerns when we have them and that it’s true with all our security partners around the world.
“This is an important platform for security, particularly in the North and we are pleased the transaction is finally concluded.”
However, in its ruling, the Abuja High Court yesterday declared that all activities of bandits operating in the north-West and the North-Central and other similar groups operating everywhere in Nigeria as “an act of terrorism”.
The court statement reads, “Any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever, in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intention or otherwise of the Yan Bindiga Group and the Yan Ta’adda Group under any other name or platform however called or described.”
The court further ordered the Federal Government to publish the prosecution order in the Official Gazette and two national dailies.
The presiding Judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo gave the order in a ruling after listening to Aminu Kayode Alilu of the Federal Justice Ministry who argue the ex-parte filed by the Federal Government to that effect.
The Judge added that considering the way the nation economy is diving into ruins from the activities of such dangerous people and the security threat they constitute to the nation at large.
The court added that it has proscribed any other group that operates under whatever name, but whose activities and objectives are similar to those of Yan Bindiga Group and the Yan Ta’adda Group.
Justice Taiwo while listing the terror activities to “include, but not limited to banditry, kidnappings for ransom, kidnapping for marriage, mass abductions of school children and other citizens, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and commuters and wanton destruction of lives and properties in Nigeria.”
Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public prosecution at the Federal Ministry of Justice who filed the motion-ex-parte revealed that the consent of President Buhari was sought to proscribe the Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda group and similar terrorist groups.
Meanwhile, in a supporting affidavit to the ex-parte motion, The Federal Government revealed its decision to approach the court for the orders.
The security reports have confirmed that the bandit groups were responsible for the killings, abductions, rapes, kidnappings, and related acts of criminality in the Northeast, North-central, and other parts of the country.
