Trial of Boko Haram suspects in detention to resume March — FG

The Federal Government has perfected plans to commence the second phase of the prosecution of Boko Haram suspects currently being held in a military facility at Kainji, Niger State.

The Solicitor-General of the Federation, SGF, and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, who made the disclosure to newsmen on Sunday, said the planned trial of the detained terror suspects would resume in March.

It will be recalled that the Federal Ministry of Justice had recently acknowledged the special intervention granted by President Muhammadu Buhari for the provision of funds and other logistics for the commencement of the exercise.

The SGF revealed that the trial, which has been done in phases, was temporarily halted to ensure proper investigation of the suspects and to put necessary measures in place to ensure that they were given a fair trials that would meet global standards.

She said the federal government was committed to ensuring that justice was dispensed to assuage the feelings of victims and survivors of terror attacks and to decongest the detention facilities.

According to the SGF; “The federal government is taking steps to reconfigure the military holding facilities to make it adaptable and conducive for recommencement of trials.

“We will start the prosecution by the end of the first quarter of 2023. We are in the process of renovating and, in fact, reconstructing facilities such as the Courtrooms and residential areas.

“It is important to ensure that there are enhanced measures put in place. We are utilizing Military facilities and therefore, they were not built like proper Courts.

“The resort to the use of Military facilities is to ensure that trials are conducted in a safe and secure environment. There are risks associated with moving such large number of accused persons at the same time for trial, so this is one critical issue that is of utmost concern.

“We have secured all relevant approvals to proceed with the projects and we are working very closely with the Office of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and other military authorities to ensure that by the end of the first quarter of 2023, we will definitely start trials,” she added.

Besides, Mrs Jedy-Agba, said the Federal Ministry of Justice was concerned about the pain and plight of victims of terrorism, likewise the sensitive issue of the rights of the accused persons.