Bandits, Militias, Armed Gangs, Armed Robbers To Be Treated As Terrorists -Tinubu …Vows To Go After Enablers, Sponsors

By Alkassim Bala Tsakuwa, Abuja

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed to tackle the growing insecurity in order to make the country safe for socio-economic development.

He made the promise during his 2026 budget proposal presentation before a joint sitting of the National Assembly on Friday.

He said,”We will usher in a new era of criminal justice. We will show no mercy to those who commit or support acts of terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes.

“Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine — a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence gathering, community stability, and counter – insurgency. This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes.

“Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists, Bandits, militias, armed gangs, armed robbers, violent cults, forest-based armed groups and foreign-linked mercenaries will all be targeted. We will go after all those who perpetrate violence for political or sectarian ends, along with those who finance and facilitate their evil schemes.

“National Security remains the foundation of development. The 2026 Budget strengthens support for: modernisation of the Armed Forces; intelligence‑driven policing and joint operations; border security and technology‑enabled surveillance; and community‑based peacebuilding and conflict prevention.

“We will invest in security with clear accountability for outcomes — because security spending must deliver results. To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies and boosting the effectiveness of our fighting forces with cutting-edge equipment and other hardware”.