The Federal Government is set tackle insurgency in the country as trial commence for about 2,000 Boko Haram members arrested for participating in terror activities and has lined up eight judges to handle the special trial.
The trial will take place in Kainji, Niger State, under a secure environment provided by a special security outfit, Operation Safe Corridor, with many of the suspects already in detention at the facility.
The trial will involve about 2,000 persons for their roles in the Boko Haram’s deadly onslaught against fellow citizens and security agents in many parts of the North, especially in the North-East with the group taking over some territories, hoisting it flag and forcefully collecting tributes from farmers before they can go to their farms.
Similarly, more than 205 persons have been convicted on charges related to their involvement with the militant Islamist group, which began an insurgency in 2009 aimed at creating an Islamic state in the North-East.
The jail terms ranged from three to 60 years, while over 1,500 persons allegedly affiliated with Boko Haram have been released for rehabilitation over the years.
It is recorded that more than 35,000 persons have been killed and two million forced to flee their homes since the insurgency began.
The Solicitor-General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs Beatrice Jedy-Agba, said that the Federal Government would commence the second phase of the prosecution of Boko Haram suspects being held in Kainji, Niger State.
Adding that, the Federal Government is taking steps to reconfigure the military holding facilities to make it adaptable and conducive for the recommencement of trial. We will start the prosecution by the end of the first quarter of 2023.
