Zainab Abioye
Mohammed Hayatu-deen, a presidential aspirant under the African Democratic Congress, has unveiled a series of tough measures aimed at tackling terrorism, banditry and kidnapping across Nigeria if elected president.
In a post shared on X, Hayatu-deen said his administration would immediately designate violent criminal groups as terrorist organisations, prosecute kidnappers under terrorism laws and dismantle financial networks funding insecurity.
He said the country’s security crisis was deeply connected to its economic challenges, noting that rising poverty, unemployment and violence continued to reinforce each other across the nation.
“When farmers cannot reach their fields, food prices rise. When traders cannot move goods, the cost of living rises. When young men cannot find work, criminal networks find recruits,” he wrote.
Hayatu-deen said one of his first actions in office would be to formally proscribe groups such as Yan Bindiga and kidnapping syndicates linked to ISWAP under the Terrorism Prevention Act.
He also vowed to establish accelerated terrorism courts to ensure speedy prosecution of bandits, kidnappers and their collaborators, adding that the era of light sentences and endless judicial delays would come to an end.
The aspirant further promised to direct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria to identify, freeze and seize assets linked to terrorism financing, ransom collection and arms trafficking.
According to him, security agencies would deploy modern surveillance technology and intelligence-sharing systems to track criminal networks and ransom flows nationwide.
Hayatu-deen also pledged to end federal involvement in ransom payments and negotiated amnesties for armed groups, insisting that criminal violence should not be rewarded with public funds or political concessions.
He added that his administration would rebuild regional security cooperation through the Multi-National Joint Task Force involving Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin.
The presidential aspirant further proposed reforms to improve intelligence coordination among the military, police, DSS, immigration, customs and financial intelligence agencies.
He said the military could not continue to police communities indefinitely, stressing the need for stronger policing systems, improved training and rapid response structures nationwide.
Hayatu-deen also promised targeted economic recovery programmes for regions heavily affected by insecurity, especially for young people vulnerable to recruitment by criminal and extremist groups.
Hayatu-deen said his proposed reforms were aimed at restoring order, rebuilding trust in government and making communities safer across Nigeria.
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