The Attorney General of Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami (SAN), has said all is now set to begin the arraignment of suspected Boko Haram suspects held in various detention facilities in the country.
A statement on Sunday signed by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the AGF, Mr Salihu Isah, said that their trials will kick-start tentatively on Monday, October 9, 2017.
About 651 detainees were remanded by the order of the Federal High Court, Maiduguri and have been transferred from Giwa Barracks to Maiduguri Prisons while 116 charges filed are awaiting trial in Kainji. So far only 13 cases have been concluded with nine convictions while 33 trials are ongoing at various Federal High Court Divisions across the county.
About 220 detainees recommended for release/deradicalisation programme for want of evidence are still in Maiduguri while 1670 other detainees who were profiled at the Kainji detention facility are still awaiting judicial proceedings/deradicalisation programme.
The statement said that poorly investigated case files due to pressure during the peak of conflict at the theatre constitute a major challenge for the prosecution. AGF also identified over-reliance on confession based evidence, lack of forensic evidence and absence of cooperation between investigators and prosecutors at pre- investigation stages.
He also blamed poor logistical facilities to transport defendants from detention facility to court for trial and scarcity of skilled/trained forensic personnel to handle investigation of complex cases for the hiccup.
Others are inadequate security for counsel handling terrorism cases and the problem of converting military intelligence to admissible evidence.
Meanwhile, Malami, SAN has approved a list of prosecutors to handle the cases and the Legal Aid Council has equally released a list of defence counsels to stand in for the detainees/defendants.
The proposed prosecutions of over 1,600 detainees held in Kainji will commence by early October 2017 after the opening of the new legal year.
Four judges have been assigned by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to sit on the cases at Kainji and dispose of them expeditiously.
It is expected that the special prosecutions will start with the detainees in Kainji followed closely by the disposal of the cases of the detainees in Giwa Barracks, Maiduguri until the cases are exhausted.
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), the coordinator of terrorism matters, is expected to assist the court by providing the relevant detainees access to deradicalisation programmes where necessary.
