The federal government has disclosed that it disposed 1,743 terrorism cases and secured 742 convictions in the past four years. The government said that 880 suspected terrorists have also been discharged or acquitted by the court, while 92 cases have been adjourned within the period.
The feat, especially the convictions, is, without a doubt, a significant breakthrough in the fight against terrorists unleashing mayhem on Nigeria, particularly the Boko Haram and Lakurawa insurgents in the North-east and North-west zones, respectively.
It also, to a large extent, helps to debunk the criticism by some individuals and organisations alleging that the federal government is complicit in the escalation of terrorism in the country given its inertia in the prosecution and conviction of suspects.
Giving the updates of terrorism trials at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Abuja, penultimate Monday, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Mohammed Baba Doko, said the present administration had made significant progress in the speedy trials of suspected terrorists.
It is noteworthy that as part of the effort of the federal government to ensure accountability of those that have committed crimes against the country, the Federal Ministry of Justice, in conjunction with the NCTC and other stakeholders, notably, the Legal Aid Council, the Nigerian Army, the Nigeria Police, the Correctional Service, and the Federal High Court, collaborated to ensure the prosecution of suspects arrested at the frontlines of the North-east, the South-east and the North-central.
Thus, between 2017 and date, a number of suspects were prosecuted at Wawa Military Cantonment in Kainji, Niger state. At the first phase of the trial, 282 cases were disposed, 50 of which were convicted, 203 discharged for want of evidence and 28 adjourned to Abuja for continuation of trial.
The second phase in 2018 had 804 suspects or cases disposed, out of which 203 were convicted, 582 discharged for want of evidence, and the other cases were adjourned to Abuja for continuation of trial.
During the third phase from July 9 – 12, 2018, 224 cases were disposed, out of which 113 were convicted, 97 discharged for want of evidence, 5 acquitted, and 9 cases adjourned for continuation of trial.
At the fourth phase in December 2023, 25 cases were listed for trial, 14 were convicted, 1 was ordered to be sent to Operation Safe Corridor for DDR rehabilitation and reintegration, and 10 cases were adjourned for continuation of trial.
In the fifth phase of the trial in July 2024, 253 cases were disposed, out of which 125 were convicted, 85 were terrorism financing cases, 22 were International Criminal Court (ICC) criminalities, that is, crimes against humanity, and 22 were adjourned for trial.
Now, at the sixth phase of trial three weeks ago in December 2024, 237 cases were disposed, about 9 were adjourned for continuation of trial.
Some of the cases included acts of terrorism, terrorism financing, ICC criminalities, for which some of the defendants were sentenced to terms of imprisonment.
Doko noted that within the last one year of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration about 515 cases were disposed.
“So, all of these steps were taken in conjunction with relevant stakeholders to ensure accountability for crimes committed by violent people across the country, not just Boko Haram,” the DPP explained.
The escalation of domestic terrorist activities and the counteractions led to the arrest and detention of about 1,600 suspects in Wawa Military Cantonment, Kainji.
The detention brought to the fore the urgent need to develop a comprehensive strategy on the best way to determine the culpability or otherwise of these suspected terrorists.
The instruments which provide the legal basis upon which persons or entities are designated terrorists by the federal government include the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Section 15 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Act, 2004, and Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, among others.
Some of these laws identify and criminalise acts or omissions that constitute terrorism and prescribe punishments accordingly while others make provision for the procedures to be followed in the administration of criminal justice within the context of terrorism.
Blueprint commends the strategic collaboration between the NCTC, the military and the judiciary in ensuring the speedy trial of terrorism suspects. It is equally laudable that the trials were transparent and in conformity with international standards and human rights requirements.
However, it is our view that the effective prosecution of Boko Haram and the Lakurawa terrorists, among others, for international crimes requires the domestication of the Rome Statute.
Adopted at the Rome Conference on July 17, 1998, the Rome Statute came into force on July 1, 2002, thereby creating the International Criminal Court (ICC). The statute sets out the court’s jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and, as of an amendment in 2010, the crime of aggression.
Although Nigeria ratified the Rome Statute on September 27, 2001, the country is yet to domesticate it in accordance with section 12 of the 1999 Constitution. The delay in the domestication of the statute is traceable to its conflict with the 1999 constitution.
Whereas Section 308 of Nigeria’s constitution grants immunity to the president and state governors from criminal prosecution, Article 27(2) of the Rome Statute expressly provides that immunity, whether under national or international law, does not bar the ICC from exercising its jurisdiction.
We, therefore, urge the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, set in motion the legislative process aimed at domesticating the Rome Statute as a major plank in the success of its anti-terrorism war.
