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By Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Federal Government has launched a fresh phase of mass terrorism trials, with over 600 suspects charged before the Federal High Court, Abuja, on counts bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing, and aiding and abetting insurgent activities.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, is leading the prosecution team, while the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Aliyu Abubakar, is coordinating legal representation for indigent defendants.
The cases are being handled by a bench of judges including Justices Binta Nyako, Emeka Nwite, Musa Liman, James Omotosho, Obiora Egwuatu, and Ekerete Akpan. The scale of the exercise disrupted regular court proceedings, with several earlier-scheduled matters adjourned to accommodate the terrorism trials.
The current exercise follows Phase Nine of the mass trial programme, which the Federal Government announced in April.
At that time, the AGF disclosed that 386 convictions had been secured from 508 terrorism-related cases prosecuted before various courts.
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the proceedings, Fagbemi said the present administration would not condone terrorism in any form.
“Since the inception of this administration, this is the fourth phase of trial that we have undertaken.
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The message is to let everybody know that terrorism in whatever shape or form is not to be condoned or tolerated. We will fight with every drop of our blood to ensure that we make Nigeria a safe haven for everybody,” he declared.
In one of the judgments delivered during the proceedings, a 55-year-old farmer, Ali Mustapha, was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment without the option of a fine for concealing information about the activities of the Boko Haram sect in Katara village, Borno State.
Mustapha, who pleaded guilty to the charge brought by the AGF, told the court in mitigation that there were no government officials or security agencies in his remote village to whom he could have reported the terrorists’ activities.
Justice Binta Fatimah Nyako, in convicting and sentencing him, ordered that the 15-year term shall commence from 2013, the year of his arrest and detention.
In a separate judgment, a Maiduguri-based businessman, Umar Bashir, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment without the option of a fine for terrorism financing.
Bashir, who described himself as a major dealer in perfume oil and a Point-of-Sale (POS) operator, was found guilty of using his UBA account — number 2213629628 — to facilitate financial transactions for members of the Boko Haram sect.
He admitted to receiving the sum of N5 million from a Boko Haram member, one Ibrahim Modu, into the said account, and subsequently transferring the funds into the Access Bank account of the terrorist, bearing account number 1834250967. The transaction, he confessed, was conducted at the Maiduguri Money Market in 2025, for which he earned a commission of N20,000.
Following his guilty plea, Justice Nyako sentenced Bashir to 20 years imprisonment, with the term commencing from 2025, the year of his arrest. The judge declined a plea for leniency, stating that the law must take its natural course.
