THE Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), on Wednesday promised that the Boko Haram suspects would be given a fair trial.
The AGF also said that the trial of the suspected members of the Boko Haram insurgents will be done within justice safeguards and in compliance with the rule of law.
A statement on Wednesday by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Minister, Comrade Salihu Othman Isah said Malami made the commitment yesterday in Abuja while addressing a one-day sensitization workshop organized by Federal Ministry of Justice in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) on Kainji Prosecution Project.
Represented by the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr Oludayo Toba Apata, the AGF said the deradicalization is an essential element of the project and added that peace in the Northeastern part of Nigeria is peace for all.
Malami also commended security agencies involved in the theatre of war in the Northeast, especially the military, stressing that their support, cooperation and understanding was still anticipated.
Earlier in his welcome address, Mohammed Etsu Umar, Director, Public Prosecution of the Federation said that innocent Boko Haram suspects would be handed over to ‘Operation Safe Corridor’ which is domiciled at the Office of the National Security Adviser for the purposes of deradicalization and countering violent extremism before releasing them to the larger society.
Etsu also explained that the AGF and the NSA had perfected plans to carry out expeditious prosecutions to enable the courts to decide the fate of the detained suspected terrorists.
He said the terror group was prescribed by the Federal Government in May 24th, 2013 thereby making the membership of Boko Haram an offence punishable with at least 20 years imprisonment under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
Delivering a goodwill message, Representative of British High Commission, Harriet Thompson noted that combating terrorism is a complex task involving a lot of people, surmising that the United Kingdom is committed to assisting Nigeria in curtailing terror attacks and other related issues.
UNODC representative, Rosemary Fernandez, on her part, commended the initiative of the AGF and the NSA for coming up with the initiative, which she said was timely.
Similarly, Harry Branny of the Red Cross Committee expressed happiness being part of the workshop emphasizing that the Red Cross supports the commitment the Nigerian government is making in order to cope with the challenges of the insurgency.
Branny further underlined the need to look into rights of the detainees, especially women and children who are the most vulnerable.