A security expert, Kabiru Adamu, has stated that the power to determine whether a group is a terrorist organization lies solely with the courts, emphasizing that neither the president nor members of his cabinet have the authority to make such declarations.
Adamu’s remarks come in response to a speech by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on Monday, in which he reiterated President Bola Tinubu’s declaration that kidnappers and bandits will now be treated as terrorists.
The minister made the announcement during the Federal Government’s end-of-year press briefing in Abuja, noting that the policy is intended to enhance intelligence sharing and strengthen operational coordination among security agencies.
However, speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Adamu, the Managing Director of Beacon Consulting Ltd, insisted that current Nigerian law allows only courts to designate a group as terrorist.
“The law that determines who a terrorist is in Nigeria is the Terrorism (Prohibition and Prevention) Act, as amended in 2022. It defines what constitutes terrorism and also provides procedures for determining who or what qualifies as a terrorist group, or who is supporting and financing terrorism.
“That law assigns the responsibility for such determinations to a competent court of jurisdiction and places the duty of petitioning for these determinations on the Attorney General of the Federation.
“So, even the president does not have the power to determine whether a group is a terrorist organization, nor does any member of the executive arm. That authority resides with the judiciary, through a competent court of jurisdiction,” Adamu said.
The president does not have the power to determine whether a group is a terrorist or not, neither does any member of the administration. That power resides with the competent court of jurisdiction.
Adamu also expressed concern that if the power to designate terrorist groups were to reside with the executive, it could be politicized, posing a danger to democracy.
“It would lead to politicization,” he said. “Anyone within the executive arm could, for instance, wake up one day and declare any group a terrorist organization, and the danger lies in the consequences that would follow.
“We are in a political season; the campaigns have already begun. So, if that power rests with the executive, I believe it would be harmful to our democracy.”