Onirhobo Slams Yusuf’s ‘Freedom Fighters’ Remark, Says It Launders Terrorism.
TEC News|Abuja|19th December, 2025.
Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Onirhobo has issued a strongly worded response to comments attributed to Prof. Usman Yusuf, in which armed Fulani bandits were reportedly described as “freedom fighters,” warning that such characterisation is constitutionally indefensible and morally reckless.
In a statement titled “Response to Prof. Usman Yusuf’s Statement on Fulani Bandits,” Chief Malcolm Emokiniovo Onirhobo said the remarks insult victims of banditry and amount to an attempt to sanitise terrorism through intellectual sophistry.
Onirhobo stressed that Nigeria is a constitutional democracy governed by law, not sentiment, ethnic affiliation, or romanticised narratives of criminal violence. Citing Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, he noted that the security and welfare of the people remain the primary purpose of government, imposing a duty on the Federal Government to deploy lawful force against armed non-state actors.
“Bandits are not freedom fighters,” he said, arguing that such groups do not pursue recognised political struggles, do not submit to international humanitarian law, and do not represent oppressed peoples through lawful structures. Rather, he described them as criminal gangs proscribed under Nigerian law, whose actions fall within terrorism, insurgency, and organised violent crime.
The statement rejected calls for abandoning military options in favour of dialogue without disarmament, surrender, or accountability, warning that this would amount to state capitulation. “Dialogue does not replace law enforcement. Dialogue does not override the Constitution. Dialogue does not excuse mass murder,” Onirhobo asserted, adding that while non-kinetic measures may complement security operations, no sovereign state negotiates its existence away by redefining criminals as freedom fighters.
Onirhobo also raised concerns over claims of unauthorised civilian access to bandit enclaves and alleged mediation with their leaders, saying such assertions raise serious national security questions that competent authorities must investigate.
He concluded by insisting that the Nigerian state has no constitutional obligation to negotiate with terrorists, that the Armed Forces are lawfully empowered to neutralise armed threats, and that victims—largely rural and defenceless Nigerians—deserve justice rather than ideological excuses for their tormentors.
“Peace without justice is surrender. Dialogue without law is anarchy,” the statement read, urging that Nigeria pursue peace under the Constitution, not at the gunpoint of criminals.
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