The Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has on Tuesday, stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government is following International best practices in the proscription and gazetting of the armed Fulani bandits as terrorists,
The AGF spoke as a Guest on NTA’s ‘Good Morning Nigeria Show’.
He said: “Government has a responsibility to act, but within the context of acting, you are equally expected to operate within the confines of International best practices associated with engagement, and one of such best practices is that you can only use maximum force on groups, individuals, that are declared terrorists, and that is where the application of the Terrorism Act comes in place.
“With that in mind, Nigeria acted, first by proscribing IPOB, taking into consideration the threats to lives and properties they have caused in the nation. Boko Haram was proscribed.
“Now, we are confronted with another threat in the North-West associated with banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and in all these, these people are using weapons to attack Nigerians, kidnap them, and created a situation of serious security challenge and fear in the system.
“Whatever Military hardware you acquire, there are limits within the context of the International Convention as to how it can be used, when it can be used, and against who it can be used. And that is how the idea of looking at the activities of the bandits, cattle rustlers, kidnappers come into being.
“Our assessment taking into consideration that they are causing a major threat to the territorial peaceful co-existence and causing a major threat to lives with weapons, the idea then came about that indeed they (bandits) have satisfied the criteria of being declared terrorists within the context of the Law, so that whatever Military hardware at the disposal of the Federal Government can best be used against them within the context of the International Convention, and within the context of the Law.
“The gazetting of a court order or judgement is a process, but what matters fundamentally within the context of International Convention is the judicial declaration, and that has been obtained; the court has declared bandits, kidnappers, cattle rustlers as terrorists.
“So, with or without the gazette, what gives effect to such declaration is a judicial pronouncement, but the Gazette is a mere formality, and it has been on, and I believe within a matter of days, it will be concluded.”
