Federal Government on Monday commenced another round of mass trials for suspected terrorists at the Federal High Court in Abuja as part of efforts to accelerate the prosecution of terrorism-related cases.
Gatekeepers News reports that more than 400 suspects are expected to be arraigned before different judges of the Federal High Court during the exercise.
The proceedings, which are scheduled to run for one week, are being handled by a panel of judges, including Justices Binta Nyako, Emeka Nwite, Musa Liman, James Omotosho, Obiora Egwuatu and Ekerete Akpan.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, is leading the prosecution team, while the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council, Aliyu Abubakar, is heading the defence.
Before Justice Emeka Nwite alone, 58 suspected terrorists were listed for trial. They include Abba Bukar, Abba Manye, Gujja Mala Bukar, Brem Gonimi, Isa Mohammed, Lawali Dashiri Danke, Yau Tukur, also known as Mai-Auduga, and Bello Liman, alias Bell Doctor, among others.
The latest proceedings mark another phase in the Federal Government’s ongoing mass trial programme for terrorism suspects.
In the previous phase, which took place between April 7 and April 10 in Abuja, no fewer than 500 suspected terrorists were tried. Attorney General Fagbemi described the exercise as phase nine of the government’s mass trial initiative.
The programme forms part of a broader strategy aimed at clearing the backlog of terrorism-related cases and speeding up the administration of justice for offences linked to insurgency and organised armed criminal groups across the country.
