KEY POINTS
- 653 suspects have been convicted in the ongoing trials.
- A total of 1,060 suspects were brought before the court.
- The government says rehabilitation should complement prosecution.
The Federal Government has secured 653 convictions from 880 terrorism related cases handled during the ongoing 11th phase of special trials at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, disclosed the figures on Friday while reviewing progress in the ongoing proceedings.
According to Fagbemi, 1,060 suspects were brought before the court during this phase of the trials. Of the 880 cases tried so far, 653 resulted in convictions, while seven defendants were acquitted and 27 were discharged.
The trials are still ongoing, and the Attorney General said the final figures would be released when the exercise concludes.
Fagbemi described the current phase as apparently the largest since the Federal Government began conducting special trials for terrorism-related offences. He attributed the progress to effective prosecution, cooperation among judicial officers and collaboration between relevant government institutions.
AGF Commends Judges and Legal Teams
The Attorney General praised the judges handling the cases, particularly Justice Binta Nyako, who has been acting on behalf of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho.
He also commended prosecution and defence lawyers, alongside security agencies and other justice sector institutions, for their contributions to the proceedings.
Fagbemi said cooperation among these institutions had helped advance the prosecution of terrorism, terrorism financing and other related offences.
The trials form part of the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen accountability and address insecurity by bringing suspects accused of involvement in extremist activities before the courts.
Fagbemi also addressed concerns about legal representation for defendants, explaining that the Legal Aid Council was carrying out its responsibility to provide legal assistance to eligible suspects.
He clarified that some defendants were represented by private legal practitioners rather than lawyers provided through the council.
According to the AGF, defence lawyers had been meeting their clients before court sessions, visiting detention facilities and preparing their cases.
