Tinubu Declares Total War on Bandits and Kidnappers, Rebrands All Armed Non-State Actors as Terrorists Under New ₦5.4tn National Security Doctrine

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has fundamentally shifted Nigeria’s internal security policy, officially declaring that bandits, kidnappers, and all armed non-state actors will be treated as terrorists under a “no-mercy” counter-terrorism framework.

The President made the high-stakes declaration on Friday, December 19, 2025, during his presentation of the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. The move signals a decisive end to the era of treating organized kidnapping and rural banditry as mere “communal criminality,” moving them into the same legal and military bracket as global terror cells.

“Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists,” President Tinubu told the lawmakers. “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.”

The new doctrine, which has been greeted with a massive ₦5.41 trillion budget allocation, represents a holistic redesign of the nation’s security apparatus. The President revealed that the focus will now shift toward “unified command” and “intelligence-led operations” designed to dismantle the entire ecosystem of violence. This includes a specific mandate to track and prosecute the “enablers”—individuals and networks that provide financing, logistics, and information to criminals in the forests and urban centers.

Beyond local banditry, the declaration also covers foreign-linked mercenaries and violent cult groups, which the President noted have increasingly destabilized regions for political or sectarian gains. “We will go after all those who perpetrate violence… along with those who finance and facilitate their evil schemes,” he warned.

Security experts suggest that the reclassification of these groups as “terrorists” provides the Nigerian military with broader legal powers to deploy more lethal assets, including advanced air surveillance and precision strikes, which are typically restricted in domestic policing scenarios.

The President assured Nigerians that the “Budget of Consolidation” is primarily aimed at securing the country, noting that without peace and stability, the administration’s economic reforms cannot reach the average household. He pledged continued investment in “cutting-edge equipment and hardware” to boost the fighting capability of the Armed Forces throughout 2026.