All armed groups, including Fulani militias, robbers, violent cults, and gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside of official authority, have been designated as terrorists by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This was revealed by the President on Friday when he presented the N58.46 trillion 2026 Appropriations Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly.
He characterized the action as a new counterterrorism philosophy that labels any armed groups functioning outside of state authority as terrorists, including armed gangs, militias, robbers, and their community or political supporters.
According to the President, the new security revamp is a “holistic redesign” of Nigeria’s security structure, based on counter-insurgency operations, community stability, unified command, and intelligence cooperation.
He clarified that the decision would prevent risks to the nation’s corporate viability and increase public worry.
“Any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists under this new architecture,” he declared.
“Bandits, militias, armed gangs, criminal networks with weapons, armed robbers, violent cult groups, forest-based armed collectives, and foreign-linked mercenaries” are some of them, he claims.
He went on to say that organizations or individuals using violence for “political, ethnic, financial, or sectarian objectives” would also be classified as terrorists.
Remember that Tinubu proposed a budget for 2026 of N58.46 trillion, of which N5.41 trillion went toward defense and security.
In the meantime, Nigerians have called on Tinubu’s administration to address insecurity.
In light of a recent wave of kidnappings, the Nigeria Union of Teachers has warned to stop providing its services if security is not ensured.
