Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has accused
the federal government of treating bandits with kid gloves.
Bandits had in recent months terrorised communities in the
north-west and the north-central.
Falana, in a statement on Sunday, said bandits are not
different from Boko Haram insurgents who are regarded as terrorists.
He accused the federal government of “deliberately refusing”
to declare bandits as terrorists.
“For reasons best known
to the Federal Government the criminal elements who are currently involved in
the brutal killing of innocent people and abduction of thousands of people
including primary school pupils in the North West Zone are called bandits and
not terrorists,” the statement reads.
“It is undoubtedly clear that the criminal elements who
abduct unarmed citizens, kill them or release them after collecting ransom to
the tune of several millions of Naira are terrorists.
“The criminal elements who attack and down military planes
are terrorists. The criminal elements who attack police stations and seize
weapons to attack innocent people are terrorists.
“The criminal
elements who attack correctional centres and release inmates therein are
terrorists. The criminal elements who destroy government properties or public
facilities are terrorists. But the Federal Government has deliberately refused
to declare the bandits terrorists and prosecute them.
“In August 2019, the State Security Service arrested and
detain Mr. Omoyele Sowore for planning a peaceful rally against the Buhari
administration. While he was in detention the SSS secretly applied for an ex
parte order to have Sowore detained for 90 days for the purpose of
investigating his alleged terrorist activities. Even though there was no
evidence to support the application the Federal High Court ordered that Sowore
be detained for 45 days. At the end of the investigation the SSS confirmed that
there was no scintilla of evidence linking Sowore to terrorism.
“Recently, the Kaduna State High Court dismissed the charge
of culpable homicide against Sheikh Ibrahim Elzakzaky and his wife. Completely
dissatisfied with the verdict the Kaduna State Government has charged them with
terrorism.
“And sequel to the proscription of the MIN the police and
the army engage in routine extrajudicial execution of scores of Shiites for
embarking on peaceful protests in Abuja and other states in the North. However,
while the Federal Government is waging a full scale war against the Shiites,
IPOB members and journalists it has continued to treat the so called bandits
with kid glove.”
The human rights lawyer said federal lawmakers had also
asked President Muhammadu Buhari to declare bandits as terrorists, but the
federal government had ignored the resolution.
Falana called on the media and Nigerians to “stop referring
to terrorists as bandits”.
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