The Federal Government has officially designated kidnappers and other violent armed groups as terrorists, marking a major escalation in Nigeria’s response to abductions, attacks on farmers, and community violence.
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, made the announcement on Monday during the end-of-year press briefing in Abuja.
The move according to the minister, signals a shift from treating mass kidnappings and rural attacks as ordinary crimes to confronting them under full counterterrorism measures.
“Henceforth, any armed group or individual that kidnaps our children, attacks our farmers, and terrorises our communities is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist.
“Now, the era of ambiguous nomenclature is over. If you terrorise our people, whether you are a group or you are an individual, you are a terrorist and will be classified as such. There is no name hiding under this again,” the minister said.
Idris added that the policy would strengthen intelligence sharing and operational coordination across security agencies, allowing for faster and more decisive action.
The minister highlighted that improved inter-agency collaboration has already produced results, noting that two of the most internationally wanted criminals were captured through coordinated operations this year.
In a bid to secure vulnerable rural areas, Idris also announced the deployment of trained and equipped forest guards, saying that these personnel will combine surveillance, local intelligence, and rapid-response capabilities to secure forests and remote locations used as hideouts by criminal groups.
The forest guard initiative is expected to disrupt criminal supply routes, dismantle camps, and provide reassurance to farming communities affected by insecurity.
PUNCH