A Federal High Court in Abuja has approved an application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to expedite the trial of Khalid Al-Barnawi, the alleged mastermind of the 2011 bombing of the United Nations (UN) building in Abuja, and four co-defendants.
Gatekeepers News reports that Al- Barnawi, said to be a top commander of the militant group Ansaru, is facing terrorism-related charges alongside Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Mohammed Bello (aka Datti), Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu (aka Bello Maishayi).
At Friday’s sitting, DSS counsel Alex Iziyon urged the court to allow accelerated hearing, assuring that the service was ready to ensure speedy determination of the case. The defence team did not oppose the application.
Presiding judge Justice Emeka Nwite granted the request, ruling that video recordings tendered by the DSS would be played before the court registrar, with parties taking notes before reconvening on the next adjourned date.
According to the judge, the measure aims to determine whether the suspects’ confessional statements were made voluntarily. The trial-within-a-trial was adjourned to October 23 and 24.
Al-Barnawi was arrested in Lokoja, Kogi State, in April 2016, five years after the UN building attack that killed more than 20 people and injured over 70. His trial has been repeatedly delayed due to legal and administrative bottlenecks.
Prosecutors allege that between 2011 and 2013, the defendants conspired to commit acts of terrorism across Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, and other northern states.
The United States designated Al-Barnawi a global terrorist in 2012 and placed a $5 million bounty on him. Ansaru, his group, is linked to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and has claimed responsibility for multiple deadly attacks, including the 2012 raid on the Kuje maximum-security prison in Abuja.
