Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, on Tuesday, urged President Bola Tinubu and the Armed Forces to summon the political will needed to decisively eliminate Islamist terrorists and foreign militias once and for all.
Fani-Kayode emphasised that this responsibility rests solely on President Tinubu’s shoulders and that he must honour it.
He stated further that the President has the courage and determination to act but he must see the mission through to the end.
Delivering the keynote address at the ongoing Law Week of the Akure chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Ondo State, Fani-Kayode insisted that terrorists “do not have the right to live like other citizens” and criticised state governments that negotiate with or rehabilitate arrested terrorists.
Speaking on the theme “Nigeria: Quest for Utilitarian Judiciary and Roles for Stakeholders”, he stated that the tolerance shown toward terrorists partly prompted the US President to consider intervention in Nigeria.
He named Boko Haram, ISWAP, Ansaru, Al-Qaeda, JNIM, Lakurawa, killer herdsmen, kidnapping gangs, and other armed groups as “a cancerous plague that must be eradicated with clinical precision and brute force.”
Fani-Kayode also condemned statements made by US President Donald Trump about Nigeria, describing them as “unlawful, reckless, and barbaric.”
He said, “When another nation’s president threatens to bomb us, violates our sovereignty, calls our people a disgrace to humanity, blacklists us, and hurls all sorts of insults, it is unacceptable.”
He added, “We must respond forcefully but lawfully. We should hold our heads high, defend ourselves, speak the truth, and tell the world—and the enemy—that we are not what they have alleged. We have challenges, yes, many are inspired and created by others, but we will solve them.”
Fani-Kayode accused the US President of trying to fuel religious divisions in Nigeria rather than genuinely helping with the country’s security challenges.
“Not only Christians but many Muslims are also being killed, and this does not diminish the suffering of Christians at the hands of terrorists—not Muslims. These terrorists are barbarians,” he said.
He stated firmly: “My belief is that we must eliminate every single terrorist and their sponsors in Nigeria. I do not support dialogue, forgiveness, negotiation, pampering, or rehabilitation of terrorists, especially not integrating them into the Nigerian Armed Forces. I believe in crushing them swiftly and decisively—sending them to their maker. This has been my position for 20 years and will remain so. Demons and vampires have no place among the living and no right to life.”
“I believe that genocide, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and mass murders of the most horrendous nature have been carried out by these groups over the past two decades against Christians,” he added.
Meanwhile, declaring the Law Week open, Ondo State governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, stressed that a thriving democracy depends on a functional legal system, with lawyers forming its backbone.
Represented by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Dr Kayode Ajulo, SAN, the governor praised the bar and bench for their contributions to political stability, social balance, and economic progress.
