The
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Abubakar
Malami (SAN) said the trial of 1,670 Boko Haram suspects in detention will
begin on Monday, October 9.
In
a statement by his spokesman, Othman Salihu Isah yesterday, the minister
identified the 1,670 terrorism suspects being held at the Kainji Detention
Facility in Niger State as the first beneficiaries of a process to speed up the
trials.
He
announced the approval of a list of prosecutors to handle the cases with a list
of defence counsels from the Legal Aid Council of Nigerian (LACON), an agency
under the Ministry of Justice. He also disclosed that the Chief Judge of the
Federal High Court has appointed four judges to oversee the cases.
He
also stated that the special prosecutors will attend to the cases of the 651
detainees in Giwa Barracks, Maiduguri until the cases were exhausted.
Of
the 33 cases under the Federal High Court, he said 13 have been concluded with
nine convictions, while 116 charges are still awaiting trial in Kainji, Niger
State. He said 220 detainees in the facility were in the category that have
been recommended for release and de-radicalization programme due to want of evidence.
He
explained that the second category were those, who will be willing to plead
guilty for lesser sentences, while the third category are those initially
recommended for further investigation but have no files so far concerning their
cases.
He
said the fourth category is for suspects, whose cases were reviewed and a
prima-facie were found and may be willing to opt for a full trial.
The
AGF also stated that the exercise will be carried out alongside the office of
the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Joint Investigation Team set up by
the Defence Headquarters.
The
AGF explained that the programme was the outcome of an on-the-spot assessment
by a team comprising representative of the Office of the National Security
Adviser (ONSA), Federal High Court and the Office of the Honourable
Attorney-General of the Federation, who were dispatched to Kainji from the 12th
to 14th of September, 2017.
The
AGF listed some of the challenges in the prosecution of terrorism cases to
include: poorly investigated case files due to pressure during the peak of
conflict at the theatre, over reliance on confession based evidence, lack of
forensic evidence, absence of cooperation between investigators and prosecutors
at pre-investigation stages, and poor logistical facilities to transport
defendants from detention facility to court for trial.
Others
are; scarcity of skilled/trained forensic personnel to handle investigation of
complex cases, inadequate security for counsel handling terrorism cases, and
difficulties in converting military intelligence to admissible evidence.
Source: www.dailytrust.com.ng
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