The Minister of Defense, Bashir Magashi, has said that the need to follow due process is responsible for the delay in declaring bandits as terrorists despite numerous calls by Nigerians.
Mr Magashi said this while responding to questions from journalists in Maiduguri, on Friday when he led service chiefs to receive an operational brief from the headquarters of the theatre command Operation Hadin Kai.
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“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,” Magashi said.
Many persons, including Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, have called for the bandits to be designated as terrorists as attacks in the North-West and North-Central proliferate.
In September, the Senate had also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare them as terrorists.
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The federal lawmakers also asked President Buhari to declare all the known leaders of the bandits wanted and track them wherever they are for arrest and prosecution.
The Federal Government formerly approved the proscription of Boko Haram as a terrorist group in 2013, while the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the southeast was proscribed in 2017.
