FG Set To Prosecute 1,670 Boko Haram Suspects In October

President Buhari

The Federal Government on Sunday rolled out its plans on how to handle the cases suspected Boko Haram terror group members, totaling 2,541, currently detained at Wawa Barracks in Kainji, Niger State, and Maiduguri prison in Borno State.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said in a statement that a special prosecution arrangement already put it in place would commence the trial of 1,670 of the detainees in Wawa Barracks, Kainji, Niger State, in October.

‎The statement signed by the AGF’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Salihu Isah, ‎ stated that after exhausting the cases in Kainji, the cases of 651 suspects currently detained at Maiduguri prison, would be taken up by the special arrangement.

It added that due to lack of evidence for any successful prosecution, 220 other suspects detained in the Kainji detention facility would be released and subjected to “de-radicalisation programme”.

The AGF’s spokesperson stated that the 220 suspects constituted one of the four categories of terrorist suspects detained in the Kainji facility.

According to Isah, they were “Boko Haram suspects who were hitherto investigated by the Joint Investigation Team set up by the Defence Headquarters otherwise known as DHQ/JIT and case files transmitted to the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and after a careful review of the cases based on their individual merit, it was discovered that they have no prima facie cases that will sustain a charge against them in any court of law hence were recommended for release and handed over to the Office of the National Security Adviser for rehabilitation and/or de-radicalisation.”

NAN