By Alice Etuka, Abuja
President Bola Tinubu has declared that all kidnappers should be treated as terrorists.
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale announced this in a statement issued on Tuesday, March 26, 2024.
The statement read in parts: “President Bola Tinubu has condemned the reprehensible acts perpetrated by kidnappers across the country, declaring that individuals involved in such despicable crimes must be treated as terrorists.
“The President made the declaration on Tuesday at a Ramadan dinner with members of the Federal judiciary led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
“Reiterating the government’s resolve to defeat banditry, the President said those who resort to kidnapping children are cowards, incapable of confronting the might of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
”’We must treat kidnappers as terrorists. They are cowardly. They have been degraded. They look for soft targets. They go to schools and kidnap children and cause disaffection. We must treat them equally as terrorists in order to get rid of them, and I promise you we will get rid of them’, the President said at the dinner attended by serving and retired judicial officers, including two former CJNs, Justice Mahmud Mohammed and Justice Walter Onnoghen.
