The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday declared the activities of bandits’ groups as acts of terrorism.
According to Premium Times, Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) of the Federation, had filed an ex-parte application seeking to proscribe the activities of ‘bandits’ who have been waging a relentless war against ordinary Nigerians across Nigeria.
In the last two years, reports indicate that thousands of Nigerians have been killed and maimed, while a similar number have also been displaced due their nefarious activities.
The bandits’ activities have been most pronounced in Zamfara, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna, Benue States, where hundreds of people have been kidnapped or killed and has become a daily affair.
Moving the application on Thursday, Abubakar informed the Court that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the proscription of bandits as terrorists.
In his ruling, the judge, Taiwo Taiwo, specifically held that the activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda bandit groups constitute acts of terrorism.
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According to Court documents, the federal government based its decision on security reports, which confirmed that the bandits were responsible for the killings, abductions, rapes, kidnappings, in Northern Nigeria.
The government further blamed the group for the growing cases of banditry, incessant kidnappings for ransom, kidnapping for marriage, mass abductions of school children and other citizens, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and on commuters and wanton destruction of lives and properties in Nigeria, particularly in the North-west and North-central states in Nigeria being carried out by Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other groups associated with or engaged in the same or similar activities as Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups in Nigeria.”
“The activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups and other similar groups constitute acts of terrorism that can lead to a breakdown of public order and safety and is a threat to national security and the corporate existence of Nigeria,” the government said.
In the ruling, the judge declared the activities of Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda group and other similar groups in any part of the country as acts of terrorism and illegality.
The Court proscribed the activities of the group as well as other similar groups in any part of Nigeria, either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called.
