An chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Abdulrahoof Bello, has described bandits as jihadists, arguing that the federal government cannot deploy military force against them because there is no current law proscribing them as terrorists.

Mr Bello said this during a Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily programme on Wednesday.

He noted that he was not aware of any law enacted by the National Assembly proscribing bandits as terrorists.

He stressed that the absence of such a proclamation prevented President Bola Tinubu from implementing the highest military intervention that the United States government of America was expecting from the Nigerian government to resolve the crisis. 

“The bandits are jihadists because to the best of my knowledge, I am not aware of any law enacted by the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria declaring these people as terrorists,” Mr Bello said. 

He added, “… And that is a very great lacuna that has been hindering the Federal Government from giving the terrorist treatment that Donald Trump is expecting from the Nigeria government.”

The federal government has been on the global radar after notable American politicians, including President Donald Trump, accused the Tinubu administration of not doing enough to rein in on bandits allegedly killing Christians in Nigeria.

This was followed up with a threat by Mr Trump to order a military operation in Nigeria against the bandits should Mr Tinubu fail to deploy immediate measures to protect Christians in Nigeria, especially in northern parts of the country.

Despite the pressure from the United States, the security crisis in Nigeria has escalated in recent days after 24 students were kidnapped by bandits from Government Girls Secondary School, Maga, Kebbi State on November 12. They however regained freedom this week.

Nine days later, another batch of 303 students and 12 teachers were abducted from their school after armed bandits stormed the St. Mary’s School in Papiri in Agwara Local Government Area of Niger State.

The attacks renewed local and international calls for more efforts from Nigerian authorities to immediately address the increasing security concerns across the nation.