Justice Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has outlawed the activities of some groups linked to banditry and declared their activities as acts of terrorism.

The ruling followed an ex-parte motion filed by Mohammed Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) at the Federal Ministry of Justice, on behalf of the Federal Government.

Abubakar said, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the legal action, seeking an order declaring the activities of bandits as act of terrorism.

He said the court action has the goal of outlawing the Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups, as well as other terrorist groups in the country.

In a supporting affidavit to the ex-parte motion, Aminu Kayode Alilu, from the Federal Ministry of Justice, who argued the motion ex-parte, explained why the Federal Government chose to approach the court for the order.

He argued that security reports have confirmed that bandit groups were responsible for killings, abductions, rapes, kidnappings, and other criminal acts in the Northeast, Northcentral, and other parts of the country.

The Government blamed the groups for an increase in “banditry, incessant kidnappings for ransom, kidnapping for marriage, mass abductions of school children and other citizens, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, and other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and commuters, and wanton destruction of lives and proper property.”

It specifically argued that Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups, as well as other similar groups, were responsible for the deaths of soldiers, police officers, and other security agents across the country.

“The activities of the Yan Bindiga and Yan Ta’adda groups, as well as other similar groups, constitute acts of terrorism that can lead to a breakdown of public order and safety, as well as a threat to Nigeria’s national security and corporate existence”, the motion claimed.

After listening to the argument on the application on Thursday,  the court ruled and specifically declared the activities of the “Yan Bindiga Group” and the “Yan Ta’adda Group” and other similar groups in any part of the country, especially in the Northwest and Northcentral geo-political zones, as “acts of terrorism and illegality”.

It equally proscribed the Yan Bindiga  and the Yan Ta’adda Groups as well as other similar groups in any part of Nigeria, especially in the Northwest and Northcentral geo-political zones, “either in groups or as individuals by whatever names they are called.

The court restrained “any person or group of persons from participating in any manner whatsoever, in any form of activities involving or concerning the prosecution of the collective intention or otherwise of the Yan Bindiga Group and the Yan Ta’adda Group under any other name or platform however called or described.”

It  ordered the Federal Government to publish the prosecution order in the Official Gazette and two national dailies.

Justice Taiwo said he was convinced that such orders were necessary in view of the nefarious activities of bandits and their effects on the people and the nation’s economy.

The judge also proscribed all other groups in the country, irrespective of their names, but whose activities and objectives are similar to those of Yan Bindiga Group and the Yan Ta’adda Group.

The court  listed terror activities to “include, but not limited to banditry, kidnappings for ransom, kidnapping for marriage, mass abductions of school children and other citizens, cattle rustling, enslavement, imprisonment, severe deprivation of physical liberty, torture, rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, other forms of sexual violence, attacks and killings in communities and commuters and wanton destruction of lives and properties in Nigeria.”