President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to proscribe bandits as terrorists three weeks after a Federal High Court ordered his government to do so.
Since the judgment was delivered on Friday, November 26, 2021, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), has yet to gazette the order as ordered by the court, thereby failing to give life to the order.
In his ruling, Taiwo Taiwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an ex parte application by the Federal Government for Yan Bindiga (Hausa word for gunmen) and Yan Ta’adda (Hausa word for terrorists) to be declared as terrorists.
The court asked the AGF to publish the order in two national dailies and to also publish the order in the official gazette. Malami had in a statement promised to do so. However, this has not been done three weeks after.
Why this matters
In the case of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the government branded the secessionist group as terrorists on the same day that Justice Abdu Kafarati gave the order on September 20, 2017.
Similar to that of IPOB, in the case of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) led by Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the AGF gazetted the proscription order four days after a court gave the order on July 26, 2019.
A message to Buhari
Human rights lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) has, however, advised Buhari to direct Malami to quickly do the needful before members of the public begin to misread his intentions.
Adegboruwa noted that without the gazette, the court order would not be as effective as it should be.
“Until there is an official gazette properly issued by the Federal Government, you cannot declare any organisation a terrorist group,” he said.
He added, “I believe the Minister of Justice would show good faith because when you compare the manner at which IPOB was declared as a terrorist group and was gazetted, it is not as cumbersome as what we are witnessing.
“He (AGF) should act so that the people would not begin to read meaning into the actions of the government. We need to treat everybody with universal and equal application of law so that we do not begin to accuse the government of having preference for one group against another.”
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