ABUJA, Nigeria — President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has unveiled Nigeria’s most sweeping security overhaul in more than a decade, formally abolishing the legal distinction between so-called “bandits” and terrorists and authorising a ₦5.41 trillion ($3.71 billion) full-scale military offensive aimed at crushing armed violence nationwide.
Addressing a joint session of the National Assembly on Friday during the presentation of the 2026 national budget, Tinubu declared that all armed non-state actors operating outside government authority would henceforth be treated as terrorists under Nigerian law, a move that fundamentally alters the rules of engagement in the country’s long-running security crisis.
The shift marks a decisive break from previous administrations, which often treated rural banditry, mass kidnappings and jihadist insurgency as legally and operationally separate threats.
“Under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists,” Tinubu said.
“We will pursue not only those who pull the trigger, but also those who fund, enable and profit from violence,” he added.
A ₦5.41 trillion security pivot
Of the proposed ₦58.18 trillion ($39.9 billion) 2026 budget, security and defence will absorb nearly one in every ten naira, the largest allocation in Nigeria’s history.
Government officials say the funding will support a “full-spectrum” campaign combining air power, ground operations, intelligence-led policing and financial disruption.
The Armed Forces of Nigeria have been cleared to deploy high-impact military assets, including A-29 Super Tucano combat aircraft and advanced surveillance platforms—against criminal groups previously prosecuted under conventional criminal statutes.
The government argues that the reclassification removes legal ambiguities that have, in the past, allowed suspects accused of mass abductions and killings to evade prolonged detention or prosecution.
Targeting the kidnapping economy
Beyond battlefield operations, Tinubu’s doctrine places unprecedented emphasis on dismantling what authorities describe as Nigeria’s “kidnapping-for-ransom economy,” now estimated to generate billions of naira annually.
Senior security officials disclosed that financial intelligence units have frozen more than ₦150 billion ($103 million) in assets linked to suspected facilitators and financiers of armed groups within the past 72 hours.
The administration has also directed banks, telecom firms and digital payment platforms to deepen real-time cooperation with security agencies.
“This is not just a war in the forests,” a senior government official said. “It is a war in bank ledgers, phone records and supply chains.”
Expanding the ranks
To address long-standing manpower shortages, the National Economic Council has approved ₦100 billion ($68.5 million) for the rapid rehabilitation of military and paramilitary training institutions.
Chief of Army Staff Lt-Gen. Waidi Shaibu confirmed plans to recruit 24,000 additional soldiers, a move aimed at reinforcing overstretched units deployed across Nigeria’s northwest and north-central regions, where schools, highways and farming communities have borne the brunt of mass abductions.
Legal shift to ‘No Mercy’
Legal experts note that the strategy hinges on the full application of Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, which allows broader detention powers, expanded asset seizures and harsher penalties than ordinary criminal law.
Analysts say the move is designed to close a loophole that has historically seen armed suspects charged with lesser offences such as illegal possession of firearms—often resulting in acquittals or early release.
“We will usher in a new era of criminal justice,” Tinubu told lawmakers.
“There will be no mercy for those who commit or support terrorism, banditry or kidnapping for ransom.”
High stakes ahead
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, has struggled for years with overlapping security threats—from jihadist insurgency in the northeast to mass kidnappings and armed gangs across the northwest.
While previous military campaigns have yielded mixed results, Tinubu’s government is betting that legal clarity, financial warfare and overwhelming force can succeed where piecemeal responses failed.
Human rights groups are expected to scrutinise the policy closely, particularly its implications for civilian protection and due process, as the administration enters a politically sensitive pre-election period.
