BOKO HARAM: How FG Convicted 742 Terrorists, Acquits 888 Others in Seven Years
No fewer than 742 suspected members of the Boko Haram and Islamic State of West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist sects have been convicted by the Federal Government.
The convictions occurred between October 2017 and December 2024, according to Abubakar Muhammad Babadoko, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation.
Babadoko disclosed this at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Abuja during a media briefing on the Kainji Trials and other terrorism-related issues.
He stated that since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office, a total of 515 suspected terrorists have been tried. “Between 2017 and now, we have disposed of 1,743 cases,” he said.
Babadoko further explained that 888 suspects were discharged and acquitted after their trials. “In just over a year, the successes recorded by President Bola Tinubu’s government in counter-terrorism operations and prosecuting persons involved in terrorism have surpassed those of the immediate-past administration,” he noted.
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The National Coordinator of the Counter-Terrorism Centre, Major General Adamu Laka, in his address, highlighted the escalation of domestic terrorist activities and the resulting counter-actions, which led to the arrest and detention of about 1,600 suspects at the Wawa Military Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State.
“This detention brought to the fore the urgent need to develop a comprehensive strategy to determine the culpability or otherwise of these persons suspected of being involved in terrorist activities.
“Accordingly, a team of relevant stakeholders was drawn from various MDAs to embark on the mass trials. These included judges of the Federal High Court, prosecutors, defense counsel from the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, staff of the Office of the National Security Adviser, observers from the Nigerian Bar Association, and members of the press, among others,” he said.
Mr. Zakari Mijinyawa, Director of Legal Services in the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), assured that Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and the Federal Government remain committed to fighting terrorism through a robust justice process.
