El-Rufai asks FG to declare bandits as terrorists

Despite the on-going military operation in Zamfara, Kaduna, and other states in the north,  with military-bandit fatal confrontations, Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai believes designation matters in tackling the bandits.

El-Eufai said declaring bandits are terrorists would help the Nigerian military “kill” them within the confines of international laws.

He made the call at the presentation of the Kaduna State Security Incidents Report for the Third Quarter of 2021 in Kaduna on Wednesday.

“We in the Kaduna State Government, have always aligned with the declaration of bandits as insurgents and terrorists,” he said.

“We have written letters to the Federal Government since 2017, asking for this declaration because it is the declaration that will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in international law.

“So, we support the resolution by the National Assembly and we are going to follow up with a letter of support, for the Federal Government to declare these bandits and insurgents as terrorists so that they will be fair game for our military. This is the view of the Kaduna State Government.”

The federal government just deployed some of the Tucano fighters it acquired from the US to the regions of th north where insecurity–banditry and terrorism—is escalating.

Before then, President Muhammadu Buhari had insisted he would not dialogue with the bandits.