The Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has concluded plans with the Federal Government to discuss the prosecution, rehabilitation and re-integration of former Boko Haram terrorists members at a regional level.
This will see the top hierarchy of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office visiting Nigeria next year for a possible summit with other countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) and West African sub-region on the issue.
The Chief of Africa Section, CTED, Ms. Samia Ladgham, disclosed this at the weekend, in Abuja, at the high level segment on developing a comprehensive approach to deal with persons associated with Boko Haram (offenders, suspects and victims): Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Re-integration (PRR).
Ladgham said the comprehensive approach to PRR, being championed by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), in collaboration with the European Union (EU), CTED and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), tagged: “Partnership Project II: Assisting Nigeria to strengthen rule of law-based criminal justice responses to terrorism,” will be sustained.
She also commended the Federal Government and ONSA for its approach to the issue of PRR to former members of Boko Haram, stressing that it was a completely new method of most countries facing terrorism challenges.
Ladgham assured that CTED would be assisting the country to develop the needed mechanism, disclosing that the Chair of the UN Counter-Terrorism Office would be visiting the country next year for a planned regional summit on PRR.
Earlier, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Major-General Babagana Monguno (retd), said the consultative workshops were called to enable Nigerian authorities to draw upon a range of experiences from other member states in working to overcome the challenges involved in developing and implementing re-integration and rehabilitation programmes and in tailoring effective approaches to the Nigerian context.
Monguno, who was represented by Mr Abba Ibrahim, said the two-day segment on PRR was to improve awareness of good practices, norms and standard in that area and in particular, applicable international human rights and humanitarian law.
On her part, the UNODC Country Representative to Nigeria, Ms Cristina Albertin, lauded the partnership with ONSA, UNSC-CTED and EU “in establishing clear aims for a criminal justice framework as part of an overall rehabilitation and re-integration approach, including criteria for an effective and appropriate prosecution strategy.”
Albertin, who was represented by the UNODC Deputy Country Representative to Nigeria, Ms Elizabeth Bay, said the agency was pleased to continue supporting Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts.