President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has declared that kidnappers should be treated as terrorists. He also condemned as reprehensible the acts perpetrated by kidnappers.
The President made the declaration at a Ramadan dinner with members of the Federal judiciary led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola.
Reiterating the government’s resolve to defeat banditry, the President described those engaging in the abduction of children as cowards, incapable of confronting the might of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“‘We must treat kidnappers as terrorists. They are cowardly. They have been degraded. They look for soft targets. They go to schools and kidnap children and cause disaffection. We must treat them equally as terrorists in order to get rid of them, and I promise you we will get rid of them,” a statement by the President’s spokesman Ajuri Ngelale quoted him as saying.
At the dinner were two former CJNs, Justice Mahmud Mohammed and Justice Walter Onnoghen.
On the review of judicial officers’ salaries, the President pledged that his administration would continue to implement reforms to improve the welfare and working conditions of judicial officers.
The statement reads: “I recognize that the judiciary has one of the most unrewarded responsibilities. They are yet to modernize equipment and recordkeeping, and their progress towards improvement is slow.
“When you look at the career path of a judicial officer, they cannot practice the vocation for which they were trained after retirement.
“While the framers of the law may have their reasons, I perceive this differently and see this from a fair compensation angle that should benefit all.”
