The Federal Government will soon deploy Super Tucano fighter jets against bandits terrorizing the North-West and North-Central states, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has disclosed.
Malami who appeared on NTA Good Morning Nigeria Show on Tuesday said the fighter jets can now be deployed against the bandits within the context of the international convention and within the context of the law having been declared as terrorists.
He said, “With the international convention demands associated with the usage of Super Tucano has been obtained which is a judicial pronouncement and declaration of bandits, cattle rustlers and indeed kidnappers as terrorists and that has been procured and the way has now been cleared for the application, deployment and usage of Super Tucano.
“Now, we are confronted with another threat in the North-West associated with banditry, kidnapping, cattle rustling and in all these, these people are using weapons to attack Nigerians, kidnap them and create a situation of serious security challenge and fear in the system.
“Whatever military hardware you acquire there are limits within the context of the international convention as to how it can be used, when it can be used and against who it can be used. And that is how the idea of looking at the activities of the bandits, cattle rustlers, kidnappers come into being.
“Our assessment taking into consideration that they are causing a major threat to the territorial peaceful co-existence and causing a major threat to lives with weapons, the idea then came about that indeed they (bandits) have satisfied the criteria of being declared terrorists within the context of the law so that whatever military hardware at the disposal of the Federal Government can best be used against them within the context of the international convention and within the context of the law.”
The minister said the process of gazetting the court judgement that ordered the government to declare bandits as terrorists will be concluded soon.
