President Bola Tinubu has declared that henceforth, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists.
These, he said, included bandits, militias, armed gangs, criminal networks with weapons, armed robbers, violent cult groups, forest-based armed collectives, and foreign-linked mercenaries.
The President added that groups or individuals conducting violence for political, ethnic, financial, or sectarian objectives are also classified as terrorists.
He noted that members of any group extorting communities, kidnapping civilians, occupying or seeking to occupy territory within Nigeria will be classified as terrorists.
The President made the declaration on Friday while presenting the 2026 Budget tagged: “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity”.
He stressed that the projected total expenditure for the 2026 budget is ₦58.18 trillion, including ₦15.52 trillion for debt servicing, while the sum of ₦34.33 trillion is projected as expected total revenue.
Tinubu revealed that his government has earmarked a whooping sum of ₦5.41 trillion for the defence and security sector in the 2026 budget.
He said other key aggregates of the budget included recurrent (non‑debt) expenditure: ₦15.25 trillion, Capital expenditure: ₦26.08 trillion, while the budget deficit is ₦23.85 trillion, representing 4.28 per cent of GDP.
The President said these numbers are not just accounting lines but statements of national priorities.
He said his government remained firmly committed to fiscal sustainability, debt transparency, and value‑for‑money spending.
Tinubu noted: “The 2026–2028 Medium‑Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper sets the parameters for this Budget. Our projections are based on: a conservative crude oil benchmark of US$64.85 per barrel; crude oil production of 1.84 million barrels per day; and an exchange rate of ₦1,400 to the US Dollar for the 2026 fiscal year.
“Our allocations reflect the Renewed Hope Agenda and the practical needs of Nigerians. Key sectoral provisions include: Defence and Security: ₦5.41 trillion, Infrastructure: ₦3.56 trillion, Education: ₦3.52 trillion, Health: ₦2.48 trillion.
“These priorities are interlinked. Without security, investment will not thrive. Without educated and healthy citizens, productivity will not rise. Without infrastructure, jobs and enterprise will not scale. This is why the Budget is designed as one coherent programme of national renewal.”
The President emphasised that the 2026 Budget strengthens support for modernisation of the Armed Forces; intelligence‑driven policing and joint operations; border security and technology‑enabled surveillance; and
community‑based peacebuilding and conflict prevention.
He said: “To secure our country, our priority will remain on increasing the fighting capability of our armed forces and other security agencies by boosting personnel and procuring cutting-edge platforms and other hardware.
“We are also pursuing a new era of criminal justice system to stamp out terrorism, banditry, kidnapping for ransom and other violent crimes.
“Our administration is resetting the national security architecture and establishing a new national counterterrorism doctrine—a holistic redesign anchored on unified command, intelligence, community stability, and counter-insurgency.
“This new doctrine will fundamentally change how we confront terrorism and other violent crimes that have become existential threats to our corporate survival and have heightened anxiety among our people.
“Henceforth, and under this new architecture, any armed group or gun-wielding non-state actors operating outside state authority will be regarded as terrorists.
“Groups or individuals conducting violence for political, ethnic, financial, or sectarian objectives are also classified as terrorists. Members of any group extorting communities, kidnapping civilians, occupying or seeking to occupy territory within Nigeria will be classified as terrorists.
“The denominator is that if you wield lethal weapons and act outside the state’s authority, you are a terrorist. Any individual or entity that enables the listed groups as financiers, money handlers, harbourers, informants, ransom facilitators, and negotiators will also be classified as terrorists.
“Political protectors and intermediaries, transporters, arms suppliers, and safe-house owners will be declared as terrorists. Politicians, traditional rulers, community leaders, and religious leaders who facilitate and encourage violent actions and terror within Nigeria and against our citizens are also terrorists.”