El-Rufai asks FG to declare bandits as terrorists

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has called on the Federal Government to declare bandits in the Northwest region of the country as as “insurgents” or “terrorists”.

The governor said the declaration would enable the Nigerian military to attack and kill the “bandits without any major consequences in the international law.”

Speaking at the Sir Kashim Ibrahim House, Kaduna on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, shortly after receiving the third quarter security report from the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, El-Rufai advised the FG to recruit 1,000 youths each across the 774 local government areas of the country.

He said the recruitment of the youths would deal a deadly blow to bandits and other criminal elements in the country.

El-Rufai also supported the National Assembly’s resolution to declare bandits as terrorists saying, his administration had since 2017 written to the federal government on the matter.

“Bandits don’t deserve mercy and they should not be allowed to live,” he said.

“We in the Kaduna State government had always urged for the declaration of bandits as insurgents and terrorists. We have written letters to the federal government since 2017 asking for this declaration because it is this declaration that will allow the Nigerian military to attack and kill these bandits without any major consequences in the 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, there will be fair game for our military.”

In its earlier report, the Kaduna State Government said bandits have killed no fewer than 343 and abducted 830 persons as well as ‎injured 210 persons within the third quarter of the year in the state.