The Federal Government has secured 742 convictions and acquitted 888 suspects, for want of evidence from terrorism trials between 2017 and 2024 in the country.
Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mohammed Babadoko, disclosed this in Abuja, at a news briefing on the Kanji trials and other terrorism-related issues on Monday.
The briefing was jointly addressed the Coordinator of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) , Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, the Director of Legal, ONSA, Zakari Mijinyawa and Babandoko.
The director of public prosecution of the federation explained that 1,722 cases were disposed of in phases one to six of the terrorism trials in the country.
According to him, out of the number, 742 were convicted, 888 acquitted, and 92 adjourned.
He said the terrorists received various sentences, ranging from life imprisonment and terms of 65 to 75 years, to the death penalty, depending on the severity of their crimes.
Babadoko stated that this achievement was in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and sector actors to ensure accountability for crimes committed by individuals.
“The Legal Aid Council, the Nigerian Police, the Correctional Service, and the Federal High Court came together to ensure the prosecution of suspects arrested either at the front lines in the Northeast, Southeast, or North Central.
“Between 2017 and the present, a number of suspects were prosecuted at Kanji.
“At the first phase of the trial, a total of 282 cases were disposed of, 50 of which resulted in convictions, 203 discharged for want of evidence, and 28 adjourned to Abuja for continuation of the trial in 2017,” he said.
According to him, in the second phase of the trial in 2018, a total of 804 suspects or cases were disposed of, out of which 203 were convicted and 582 discharged for lack of evidence.
“The other cases were adjourned to Abuja for continuation of trial.
“At the third phase of the trial, between 9th to 12th July 2018, a total of 224 cases were disposed of, out of which 113 were convicted, 97 discharged for lack of evidence, five acquitted, and nine cases adjourned for continuation of trial.
“At the fourth phase of the trial, in December 2023, a total of 25 cases were listed for trial, 14 were convicted.
“One was ordered to be sent to Operation Safe Corridor for Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR), and 10 cases were adjourned for continuation of trial,” he said.
Babadoko explained that in July 2024, a total of 253 cases were disposed of, out of which 125 were convicted, 85 were terrorism financing cases, and 22 involved International Criminal Court (ICC) criminalities.
“That is to say, there were crimes against humanity, and 22 cases were adjourned for trial.
“Now, at the sixth phase of the trial, two weeks ago, in December 2024, a total of 237 cases were disposed of, with about nine adjourned for continuation of trial.
“Some of these cases include acts of terrorism, terrorism financing, ICC criminalities, for which some of the defendants were sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from 60 to 75 years to life imprisonment.
“It is important to note that within the last year, the life of this administration, about 515 cases were disposed of.
“Over 800 who have served terms or were discharged and/or acquitted at the various stages of trial were moved to Operation Safe Corridor in Gombe for DDR in accordance with the orders of the court and the policy of the federal government”.
The NCTC director in his remarks noted that ”Nigeria is now more experienced in handling terrorism cases.”
Laka said that this development demonstrated the current administration’s commitment to human rights.
He noted that the current administration tried 550 suspects and secured 327 convictions in one year, while the previous administration handled 500 suspects over eight years.
“With the coming of this administration in one year, we have tried over 550.
“So, you can imagine by the end of this first term of this administration, we would have cleared maybe three or four times the number that was done in eight years of the last administration.
“So, I think Nigerians need to know how committed this administration is to human rights”.
Laka explained that at the initial stage, the country was learning the ropes in handling terrorism cases but had now grown more experienced in tackling extremism cases.
“We are partnering with some of our international partners, including UN agencies, on the training of troops in battlefield evidence collection.
“I think all Nigerians were novices when it comes to the issue of terrorism. Even our security and intelligence agencies were not as good as they are today.
“I think Nigeria has that experience now in the fight against terrorism,” he said.
