Trial of 73 Boko Haram suspects adjourned

The Federal High Court sitting in Wawa Cantonment, Kainji, Niger
state has adjourned indefinitely the trial of 73 Boko Haram
suspects, out of the 301 that were docked.

At the end of the trials at the weekend, 526 suspects who had
been detained at the Kainji centre regained their freedom. There
was no evidence to link them with the terrorist Boko Haram
group.

Two hundred and five of the detainees earned various jail terms,
out of the 301 cases that went on trial.

Comrade Salihu Othman Isah, Special Adviser to the Attorney
General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar
Malami, SAN, gave more reasons for setting the 526 suspects
free.

These include their being of minor age and suspected mental
illness.

The suspects were arrested at different states and detained in
Wawa Cantonment on suspicion they belong to the Boko Haram
terrorist group.

One of the suspects discharged and acquitted by the judge was
Modu Maina, a native of Bama LG, Borno State.

He was arrested in Ketu, Lagos State where he worked as a
gateman. Maina confessed that he was forcefully initiated into the
Boko Haram group but relocated to Lagos to avoid being arrested in
Bama.

He said that all the confessional statements he made to the
Joint Task Force (JTF) was done under torture.

The presiding judge, having reviewed the defendant’s written
confessional statements, found him not guilty.

All the 205 convicted and sentenced to imprisonment admitted
being members of the terrorist group and they also concealed
information about the group which they knew or believe to be of
material assistance that could lead to the arrest, prosecution or
conviction of other Boko Haram members.

Their jail terms ranged from 3 to 60 years.

Most of the convicts also claimed that they could not report the
activities of the terror group because they harboured fears of
being killed and that at the time they were arrested most villages
had been ravaged by the Boko Haram including the security
posts.

Alhaji Bukar Jindi who was sentenced to 16 years and 50 years on
two count charge was not remorseful. Indeed he vowed to go rejoin
the group released.

The trial of the suspects, the second batch to be done, was
witnessed by representatives of the National Human Rights
Commission, Legal Aid Council, Nigerian Bar Association and the
media.

The Federal High Court sitting in Wawa Cantonment, Kainji, Niger
state has adjourned indefinitely the trial of 73 Boko Haram
suspects, out of the 301 that were docked.

At the end of the trials at the weekend, 526 suspects who had
been detained at the Kainji centre regained their freedom. There
was no evidence to link them with the terrorist Boko Haram
group.

Two hundred and five of the detainees earned various jail terms,
out of the 301 cases that went on trial.

Comrade Salihu Othman Isah, Special Adviser to the Attorney
General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar
Malami, SAN, gave more reasons for setting the 526 suspects
free.

These include their being of minor age and suspected mental
illness.

The suspects were arrested at different states and detained in
Wawa Cantonment on suspicion they belong to the Boko Haram
terrorist group.

One of the suspects discharged and acquitted by the judge was
Modu Maina, a native of Bama LG, Borno State.

He was arrested in Ketu, Lagos State where he worked as a
gateman. Maina confessed that he was forcefully initiated into the
Boko Haram group but relocated to Lagos to avoid being arrested in
Bama.

He said that all the confessional statements he made to the
Joint Task Force (JTF) was done under torture.

The presiding judge, having reviewed the defendant’s written
confessional statements, found him not guilty.

All the 205 convicted and sentenced to imprisonment admitted
being members of the terrorist group and they also concealed
information about the group which they knew or believe to be of
material assistance that could lead to the arrest, prosecution or
conviction of other Boko Haram members.

Their jail terms ranged from 3 to 60 years.

Most of the convicts also claimed that they could not report the
activities of the terror group because they harboured fears of
being killed and that at the time they were arrested most villages
had been ravaged by the Boko Haram including the security
posts.

Alhaji Bukar Jindi who was sentenced to 16 years and 50 years on
two count charge was not remorseful. Indeed he vowed to go rejoin
the group released.

The trial of the suspects, the second batch to be done, was
witnessed by representatives of the National Human Rights
Commission, Legal Aid Council, Nigerian Bar Association and the
media.