By Sa’adiyyah Adebisi Hassan
I am watching the Tinubu government speak from two sides of the mouth on terrorism, and it is dangerous – not just politically, but existentially.
On one hand, bandits have finally been designated as terrorists. That decision is correct. Long overdue. Necessary. It acknowledges what Nigerians have known for years: that these groups are not random criminals but organised enemies of the state.
On the other hand, the same government – through the Attorney General of the Federation – has gone before the National Assembly to argue against the death penalty for terrorists and kidnappers, claiming it would “worsen insecurity.”
That position is not merely contradictory.
It is logically broken, morally confused, and strategically suicidal.
You cannot declare “no mercy” while quietly removing the only punishment terrorists actually fear.
WHAT EXACTLY ARE WE AFRAID OF?
Let us stop pretending.
Nigeria is not dealing with misguided youths, petty thieves, or political protesters. We are dealing with men who:
Kidnap schoolchildren for profit
Behead farmers and villagers
Burn entire communities
Rape women as weapons of war
Attack churches and mosques
Film their crimes and circulate them online for propaganda
These are not people confused about right and wrong.
They understand violence. They respect only force and consequence.
And yet, we are now being told that executing such people is “too harsh.”
Then what exactly is left?
Negotiation?
Amnesty?
Rehabilitation camps?
Deradicalisation workshops?
Nigeria has tried all of this – repeatedly.
The result is the nightmare we are living in today.
DESIGNATED TERRORISTS, TREATED LIKE COMMON CRIMINALS
The government wants Nigerians to applaud the “terrorist designation.” Fine. But designation without consequence is theatre.
A terrorist who knows that:
He may be arrested
He may be negotiated with
He may be sentenced lightly
He may be released
He may return to the forest
…is not deterred.
He is encouraged.
When there is no final consequence, terrorism stops being a crime and becomes a business model – high reward, low risk.
That is exactly what Nigeria has allowed to flourish.
SERIOUS STATES DO NOT CONFUSE MORALITY WITH WEAKNESS
Let us be honest with ourselves.
Countries that survive terrorism do not indulge in moral exhibitionism while their citizens are being slaughtered.
In the United States, terrorism leading to death attracts capital punishment.
In Saudi Arabia, terrorists are executed without apology.
In China, armed insurgency ends in death sentences.
In Iran, terror financing itself is a capital crime.
These countries did not defeat terrorism with sympathy. They defeated it with certainty.
Nigeria, meanwhile, is debating whether executing mass murderers is “too much.”
That debate alone explains why terrorists feel emboldened, not afraid.
THIS IS NOT A LEGAL ARGUMENT. IT IS A SURVIVAL QUESTION
This is not about human-rights conferences or academic seminars.
It is about whether the Nigerian state intends to survive.
Every time the state hesitates, innocent people pay the price.
Schoolchildren do not get second chances.
Farmers do not get plea bargains.
Worshippers do not get negotiations.
Only terrorists do.
If the death penalty will “worsen insecurity,” then someone must explain why insecurity has only worsened without it – year after year, administration after administration.
Mercy without justice is not compassion.
It is abdication.
MR PRESIDENT, CLARITY IS POWER
President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, you did well to finally call bandits what they are: terrorists.
But naming the enemy is only the first step.
Terrorism must carry the highest possible cost.
“No mercy” cannot be a slogan for speeches and press releases. It must be policy, law, and consequence.
If the state cannot summon the will to punish those who seek to destroy it, then it should stop pretending it is at war.
Because wars are not won with hesitation.
They are not won with mixed signals.
They are not won by protecting the feelings of mass murderers.
Wars are won with resolve.
And right now, Nigeria is running out of time.
