Group urges US President Joe Biden to designate Buhari, Tinubu, El-Rufai as terrorist sponsors

Global Advocates for Terrorism Eradication (GATE), a non-profit organization based in the United States, urged President Joe Biden on Friday to designate President Muhammadu Buhari, former Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and other Nigerian government officials as sponsors of terrorism in the country.

Former Chief of Army Staff Tukur Buratai, Director-General of Department of State Services Yusuf Magaji Bichi, former Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu, Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Isa Pantami, his Information and Culture counterpart Lai Mohammed, and Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami are among those named in the petition.
The group described the killings in several parts of the country as “state-sponsored terrorism” in a 26-page petition signed by GATE’s Principal Advocate, Robert Berry, and addressed to US Secretary of State, Anthony J. Blinken.

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It also claimed that Nigerian government officials were “sponsoring terrorism by engaging in terrorist activities such as terrorist training, funding, financing, and recruitment, while using their offices as a safe haven, transit, and operational base for terrorists.”
“The Nigerian government officials have used the instrument of power and are using the veil of sovereignty in knowingly consenting to and promoting the use of Nigeria as a breeding ground and recruitment nursery for international terrorism activities contrary to the foreign relations authorizations act fiscal years 1988 and 1989 (P.L.100 to 204:22 U.S.C 2656f), as amended,” the petition read.

“The current Nigerian government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, is pursuing a global Jihadist agenda that is comparable to, if not more insidious than, the Afghan Taliban’s.

“It’s made even more dangerous by the fact that it’s laced with genocidal tendencies.” It is in the best interests of the US and all democratic countries around the world to recognize and address this threat as soon as possible.

“This is to stop the Buhari government’s global jihadist agenda from spreading further and to stop an impending ethnic and religious genocide.”

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The group also gave Washington a two-month deadline to act on its petition, saying it would be forced to file a Writ of Mandamus in US Federal Court to compel Biden and Blinken to issue the designation in accordance with the law.”