- Safiu Kehinde
The Federal Government has declared all armed groups involved in kidnapping of school children and attacks on farmers and communities as terrorists.
Mohammed Idris, the Minister for Information and National Orientation, made this known during the ministry’s end-of-the-year Press briefing in Abuja on Monday.
While speaking of the Federal Government’s accomplishments on security, Idris affirmed President Bola Tinubu’s earlier declaration of the armed groups as terrorist during his budget presentation last week.
The Minister held that the era of ambiguous nomenclature is over.
“Henceforth, any armed group that kidnaps our children; that attacks our farmers; that terrorises our communities, is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist organisation. This is a declaration the President has made.
“The era of ambiguous nomenclature is over. If you terrorise our people, whether you are a group or an individual, you are a terrorist and will be classified as such. There is no any name hiding under this again.” Idris said.
Prior to the declaration, the Minister highlighted the achievements recorded in terms of security in 2025.
This included high-profile arrest of many wanted criminals including key leaders of the Islamic State West African Province (ISWAP).
“Most internationally wanted criminals, the ISWAP heads residing in Nigeria have been captured through the coordination of all the security agencies and those of the intelligence community.
“Don’t forget that Abu Bara was captured a few months ago and he was also presented to the public by the National Security Adviser and other security chiefs.
“This is one of the most wanted terrorists on the African continent and he was captured through the coordination of our security forces.
“Remember also, this was someone who had large sum of money put on his head by even the Americans to capture and bring to justice.
“As we speak today, this gentleman together with his Chief of Staff are having their day in court and they are going to get the justice that befits them.” He said.