A Nigerian lawmaker, Abdulrazak Namdas wants bandits to be addressed as terrorists.
The House of Representatives member said criminals who kill, kidnap and carry out other forms of atrocities were perpetrating terror.
Namdas represents Jada/Ganye/Mayo-Belwa/Tounga federal constituency of Adamawa State.
The Chairman, House Committee on Army, spoke at the sideline of a capacity-building workshop on conflict reporting in Abuja.
Namdas lamented the recent downing of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jet by bandits. The crash was exclusively reported on July 18.
“Some people who are being called bandits may not necessarily be bandits, they are terrorists because they have moved one step forward.
“The kind of weapons they use is no longer for banditry, not even armed robbery. They are attempting to bring down jets and it means that there is a serious matter,” he stated.
The legislator urged the media to address the outlaws appropriately and also assist security forces to succeed in the quest to safeguard Nigeria.
Namdas, however, observed the military is overstretched and faces shortage of personnel.
He explained that this is due to ongoing operations in 34 states of the country aimed at tackling insecurity.
Namdas said the Army has been handling some internal issues within the purview of the police and other paramilitary agencies.
The lawmaker called for acquisition of more sophisticated weapons to effectively fight enemies of the state posing serious threats.
He assured that the National Assembly will continue to play its part to ensure the Army achieved set targets.
The Nigerian Armed Forces has 311,000 active personnel and 89,000 reserves. The Nigerian Army is regarded as the strongest ground force in Africa.
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