With Bandits Declared Terrorists, We’ll Defeat Them — Army Chief

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, has said the official declaration of bandits as terrorists will enable the armed forc­es to take necessary action against them.

He said the gazette label­ling bandits as terrorists was long desired by the armed forces.

The General spoke on Monday when he featured on ‘Good Morning Nigeria’ programme of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA).

On January 5, the Feder­al Government released a gazette classifying bandits as terrorists, about a month after a Federal High Court in Abuja declared the activities of all bandits in the country as acts of terrorism.

The defence chief said the military will amend its tactics, given the latest de­velopment, adding that the criminals would be given “the bloody nose they so de­sire”.

He said: “The issue of gazetting the bandits as terrorists is a news that is quite gladdening. That has always been what we had desired.

“What it means is that our tactics, techniques and pro­cedures that we use in han­dling them certainly would have to change and that is why, I believe going forward, I am sure you will be reading what the outcome of those engagements are.

“Gazetting them as ter­rorists give it a global dispo­sition that will enable other key global actors to now take certain actions against them. For me, it will only get better and we will give them the bloody nose that they so desire.”