The Federal Government has formally classified kidnappers and violent armed groups as terrorists.
The declaration was made on Monday by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, during the Federal Government’s end-of-year press briefing in Abuja.
With the new designation, acts such as mass kidnappings and coordinated assaults in farming communities will no longer be treated as conventional criminal offences but addressed within the framework of counterterrorism operations.
Idris said any individual or group involved in abducting citizens, attacking farmers, or instilling fear in communities would now fall under the terrorist classification and face the full weight of the law.
According to the minister, the decision puts an end to what he described as vague labels previously used to describe violent actors, stressing that anyone who terrorises Nigerians will be treated as a terrorist without exception.
He added that the policy shift would improve intelligence gathering, enhance collaboration among security agencies, and enable quicker, more coordinated responses to security threats across the country.
