President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has announced that all armed non-state actors operating outside the authority of the Nigerian state will henceforth be treated as terrorists under a new security and criminal justice framework being implemented by his administration.
The pesident made the statement on Friday while presenting the 2026 Appropriation Bill to a joint session of National Assembly.
The president said the new security approach marks a shift from treating such groups as isolated criminal elements.
Under the framework, Tinubu said bandits, violent cults, militias, armed gangs, forest-based criminal groups, and foreign-linked mercenaries will all fall under the terrorist classification as part of efforts to strengthen national security and enforcement.
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