The federal government said it intended to follow certain procedures before declaring bandits killing and maiming people in the Northern part of the country as terrorists.
Minister of Defence, Bashir Magashi, stated this while addressing journalists in Maiduguri on Friday.
This is the clearest and surest official response yet to strident calls from well-meaning people across the country, including the National Assembly, for the federal government to classify their mode of operation as terrorism.
However, Magashi said, “We are not declaring them terrorists because there is a procedure for doing that.
“When the procedure is followed, they will be classified as terrorists. We are waiting for the procedure to be completed.”
The minister said he was in Maiduguri with the service chiefs to assess the ongoing fight against insurgency in the North-east, stating that he was satisfied with the successes recorded so far, and that his team met with the theatre commander and other component commanders to deliberate on the next phase of operations.
He said they were able to identify problems that needed urgent attention for smooth operations.
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