The Federal Government has officially designated kidnappers and violent armed groups as terrorists, marking a major escalation in Nigeria’s response to abductions, attacks on farmers, and community violence.
The announcement was made on Monday by the Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, during the end-of-year press briefing in Abuja.
This move signals a shift from treating mass kidnappings and rural attacks as ordinary crimes to confronting them under full counterterrorism measures.
“Henceforth, any armed group or individual that kidnaps our children, attacks our farmers, and terrorises our communities is officially classified and will be dealt with as a terrorist.
Now, the era of ambiguous nomenclature is over. If you terrorise our people, whether you are a group or you are an individual, you are a terrorist and will be classified as such. There is no name hiding under this again,” the minister said.
He added that the policy would strengthen intelligence sharing and operational coordination across security agencies, allowing for faster and more decisive action.
The minister highlighted that improved inter-agency collaboration has already produced results, noting that in 2025, two of the most internationally wanted criminals were captured through coordinated operations.
