The Attorney-General of Federation, Abubakar Malami, has said kidnappers are now qualified to be treated as terrorists.
Last Thursday, an Abuja Federal High Court declared the activities of two bandit groups as acts of terrorism.
The ruling was pronounced following an ex-parte motion filed by Mohammed Abubakar, the director of public prosecution (DPP) at the ministry of justice.
Malami, speaking on Wednesday during a Channels Television programme, said those who kidnap using force and arms will be treated within the ambit of the terrorism act.
“If you kidnap using force, using arms, you are qualified as a terrorist within the dictates and the determination of the judicial decision handed down by the court,” he said.
He said such acts are “within the purview and ambit of the terrorism act” and the perpetrators “will be accordingly and decisively dealt with”.
On when the court order will be gazetted, he said: “It is in the process of being gazetted but the order has been procured and obtained, it is being gazetted and the publication will follow suit thereafter.
“The gazette is a formal process and it doesn’t take away the legality and effectiveness of an order or perhaps a decision of the court.
“The decision of the court is effective, inherently in its own right, without necessarily awaiting the gazetting process.”
