Following a two-day mass trial in Kainji, Niger State, the Federal Government announced on Friday that it had succeeded in convicting no fewer than 125 Boko Haram terrorists and financiers.
According to a press release signed by Mr. Kamarudeen Ogundele, the media assistant to Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, the convicted individuals were found guilty of offenses related to terrorism, financing of terrorism, providing material support, and cases determined to be criminal acts by the International Criminal Court.
Both the AGF and the National Security Adviser’s office attended the special court session where the accused were found guilty.
The trials, which were held under Giwa Project Kainji Phase Five between Tuesday and Wednesday, were presided by five Federal High Court justices, led by Justice Binta Nyako, the statement read.
Judges Joyce Abdulmalik, Emeka Nwite, Obiora Egwuatu, and Mobolaji Olajuwon were among the other judges involved in the project. Mohammed Babadoko Abubakar, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, led the prosecution team, and Mr. Abdulfatai Bakre, a member of the Legal Aids Council, led the defense team.
Delegations from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) were among those there as international observers.
Twenty-two people were found guilty of crimes relating to the International Criminal Court (ICC), while 85 more were found guilty of financing terrorism.
Four hundred other prisoners who have served their full sentences “have also been moved to Operation Safe Corridor in Gombe State for rehabilitation, deradicalization, and subsequent reintegration,” according to the AGF.
