Buhari Finally Bow As Abuja High Court Proscribe Fulani Bandits As Terrorists

Fulani Bandits operating majorly in the North-West and North-Central regions of the country have been proscribed as a terrorist group by a Federal High Court in Abuja. The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Ministry of Justice had filed a motion ex-parte on behalf of the Federal Government to the effect.

The Director of Public Prosecution, Mohammed Abubakar, said the order to tag Fulani Bandits as terrorists was given by President Muhammadu Buhari. According to Mohammed Abubakar, the government decided to tag the bandits groups in the country as terrorists due to their involvement in the killings of security agents.

Ruling on the motion on Thursday, Justice Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja declared the activities of bandits in the two regions as acts of terrorism. The judge specifically stated that he declared the two bandit groups as terrorist groups following their nefarious activities in the Northern region.

Justice Taiwo also ruled that other similar bandit groups operating in any part of the country have been tagged as terrorists and immediately proscribed. The judge said he was convinced that such orders were necessary due to the illegal activities of bandits and the effect of their activities on the people and the economy.

The presiding judge banned anyone from participating in any form of activities concerning the prosecution of the two main groups under any other name or platform. He, therefore ordered the Federal Government to publish the prosecution order in the Official Gazette and two national dailies.

Recall that the National Assembly, Katsina State Assembly and Kaduna state Governor Nasir El-Rufai had in recent past urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare bandits operating in the North as terrorists but Buhari fell a deaf ear to their plea.