FG sets to commence prosecution of suspected Boko Haram terrorists

The coast is now set to arraign suspected member of the dreaded Boko Haram held in various detention facilities in the country.

The special adviser, media and publicity to Abubakar Malami (SAN), the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Comrade Salihu Othman Isah who disclosed this on Sunday in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja said the suspects will be arraigned in court  on Monday, October 9, 2017.

The AGF spokesman said the Federal Government had concluded 13 cases involving the Boko Haram suspects, secured five convictions and a total of 33 cases are presently going on at various Federal High Court Divisions across the country.

According to the statement, 116 charges filed in Kainji are still awaiting trial and 220 detainees have been recommended for release and deradicalisation programme for want of evidence.

It also added that 1670 detainees are profiled at the Kainji detention facility awaiting judicial proceedings and deradicalisation programme and that 651 detainees that were remanded at the Federal High Court, Maiduguri have been transferred from Giwa Barracks to Maiduguri Prisons.

Isah highlighted some of the challenges being faced in the prosecution to include, poorly investigated case files due to pressure at the peak of conflict in the theatre, over reliance on confession based evidence and lack of forensic evidence.

Other challenges faced by the prosecution include, absence of cooperation between investigators and prosecutors at pre-investigation stages, poor logistical facilities to transport defendants from detention facility to court for trial, scarcity of skilled/trained forensic personnel to handle investigation of complex cases, inadequate security for counsel handling terrorism cases and the conversion of military intelligence to admissible evidence.

Already, the AGF has approved a list of prosecutors to handle the cases and the Legal Aid Council has equally released a list of defence counsels to stand in for the detainees/defendants.

The statement said four judges have been deputed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to handle the trial of the Boko Haram suspects and the prosecution will start with the over 1, 600 cases at Kainji and dispose of them expeditiously.

The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) as the coordinator of terrorism matters is expected to assist the court by providing the relevant detainees access to deradicalisation programmes where necessary.

The statement issued yesterday by the Media Aide to the AGF followed the report of the on-the-spot assessment of the facilities and other incidentals preparatory to the commencement of trial of the suspected Boko Haram terrorists detained in a military detention facility located in Wawa Barracks, Kainji, New Bussa, Niger State, following successes recorded by the Nigeria Army and other security agencies in the fight against terrorism in the country.