The Federal government has finally declared bandits otherwise known as (Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda) groups operating in the North West and North Central Zones of Nigeria as terrorists groups and proscribed their existence and activities.
A Federal High Court judge, Justice Taiwo Taiwo sitting in Abuja on Thursday, approved the request of the federal government after listening to Aminu Kayode Alilu an assistant director in the Federal Ministry of Justice,
The judge also proscribed the groups and any other similar groups “either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called,” operating in the country with similar aims and objectives. He said they should be regarded and as terrorists organizations.
The court further prohibits any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever, in any form of activities involving or concerning the proscribed Yan Bindiga Group and the Yan Ta’adda Group under any other name or platform, however, called or described.
Justice Taiwo in his pronouncements listed terror activities to “include, but not limited to banditry, 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 commuters and wanton destruction of lives and properties in Nigeria.”
The court further ordered federal government to publish the proscription order in the Official Gazette and two national dailies.
Federal government lawyer Aminu Kayode Alilu from the federal ministry of justice, had told the court that the nefarious activities of the bandits had adversely affected the people and nations economy.
According to him,security reports have confirmed that bandit groups were responsible for killings, abductions, rapes, kidnappings, and other criminal acts in the Northeast, North central, and other parts of the country.
He said that proscribing the groups will curtail their unlawful activities and give law enforcement agencies the latitude to bring the deteriorating insecurity situation in the North West and North Central Zones under control and normalcy.
The federal government’s request which came in an ex-parte application was filed by Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari had given his approval for his action, which has the goal of outlawing the Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups, as well as other terrorist groups in the country.
In its supporting affidavit , the Federal government blamed the groups for an increase in “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, and other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and commuters, and wanton destruction of lives and proper property.”
It went further to state that the Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups, as well as other similar groups, were responsible for the deaths of soldiers, police officers, and other security agents across the country.
That commercial, educational, and farming activities in the North West and North Central have been disrupted as a result of the groups’ activities, the federal government.
“The activities of the Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups, as well as other similar groups, constitute acts of terrorism that can lead to a breakdown of public order and safety, as well as a threat to Nigeria’s national security and corporate existence,” the statement added.