The Federal Government of Nigeria has formally designated kidnappers, bandits, and other violent armed groups as terrorists, signaling a major policy shift aimed at intensifying counterterrorism measures against rampant abductions, rural attacks, and community violence. The announcement was made on Monday, December 22, 2025, by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, during an end-of-year press briefing in Abuja.
In a strongly worded declaration, Idris stated: “Henceforth, any armed group or individual that kidnaps our children, attacks our farmers, and terrorises our communities is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist. Now, the era of ambiguous nomenclature is over. If you terrorize our people, whether you are a group or you are an individual, you are a terrorist and will be classified as such. There is no name hiding under this again.”
This classification expands the legal and operational framework for security agencies, enabling enhanced intelligence sharing, coordinated strikes, and the application of full counterterrorism protocols—previously reserved primarily for insurgent groups like Boko Haram and ISWAP. The move is expected to grant forces broader powers to dismantle criminal camps, disrupt financing networks, and pursue suspects with greater decisiveness, treating such acts not as ordinary crimes but as threats to national security.
Idris emphasized that the policy builds on a new national counterterrorism doctrine established in 2025, which prioritizes unified command and community-based defenses. He highlighted recent successes from improved inter-agency collaboration, including the capture of two high-profile internationally wanted criminals—one being a top ISWAP leader with a substantial U.S. bounty. “In 2025, two of the most internationally wanted criminals were captured through the coordination of our security agencies and those in the intelligence community,” he noted.
To address the exploitation of forests and remote areas as hideouts, the minister announced the imminent deployment of trained and equipped forest guards across rural zones. These specialized personnel will integrate surveillance technology, local intelligence gathering, and rapid-response tactics to secure vulnerable locations. “Trained and equipped forest guards will be deployed to secure our forests and other vulnerable locations,” Idris said, adding that criminal elements would no longer find safe havens in ungoverned spaces.
The designation comes amid a persistent surge in kidnappings, particularly mass abductions of schoolchildren, farmers, and travelers in northern and central regions. While bandit groups were proscribed as terrorists in 2022, enforcement has been inconsistent, and kidnappings have continued unabated. This latest policy appears to reinforce and broaden that framework, aligning with President Bola Tinubu's recent statements on treating all non-state armed actors as terrorists.
The briefing also touched on broader 2025 security gains, including mass recruitment drives into the armed forces and police under a declared national security emergency. Idris reassured Nigerians that the administration remains committed to restoring peace, with measurable outcomes tied to increased funding in the 2026 budget.
Victim advocates and security analysts have welcomed the announcement, viewing it as a step toward accountability, though they call for swift implementation to curb ongoing threats. Rural communities, long plagued by attacks that displace farmers and disrupt food production, may see renewed confidence in government protection.
As Nigeria grapples with multifaceted insecurity—from insurgency in the northeast to banditry in the northwest—this terrorist designation underscores a zero-tolerance approach, promising more aggressive operations in the coming year.
