Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Barely two months after the Nigerian Government came under intense pressure by President Donald Trump of the United States of America, to take action against insecurity ravaging the country, the Federal Government, Monday, officially designated kidnappers and violent armed groups operating across the country as terrorists.
The designation, signaled a major escalation in the renewed crackdown against abductions, attacks on farmers and persistent community violence.
Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, announced the development during the Federal Government’s end-of-year press briefing in Abuja
According to him, the new designation marks a clear departure from treating mass kidnappings and rural attacks as conventional criminal acts, noting that such groups will now be confronted using full counterterrorism measures.
He said: “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,” the minister said.
Idris said the policy ends years of what he described as unclear labels for violent groups terrorising communities across the country.
“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,” Idris added.
He explained that the new approach would enhance intelligence sharing and improve operational coordination among security agencies, enabling quicker and more decisive action against perpetrators of violence.
On Nigeria’s recent diplomatic tensions with Trump, who had threatened military intervention over allegations of killings of Christians in Nigeria, the Minister, said the disagreement had been largely resolved through diplomatic engagement.
“The recent diplomatic spat with the United States has been largely resolved through a firm, respectful engagement culminating in a strengthened partnership between America and Nigeria,” he said.
