The Federal Government formally initiated the prosecution of 227 terrorism suspects before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday.
These proceedings form part of a broader judicial action involving 500 suspects, as confirmed by Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi (SAN).
Due to the scheduled Easter recess (April 7 to April 13), the trial venue was transferred from its traditional location in Kainji to the Abuja division.
While the prosecution is spearheaded by the AGF and the Director of Public Prosecution, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria has stepped in to represent defendants without private counsel.
Regular judicial divisions are expected to resume full operations on April 14, 2026.
The first suspect, Hamat Modu, 20, who pleaded guilty to a four-count charge of rendering assistance to members of the Boko Haram, a proscribed group, was convicted and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on each of the four counts by Justice Binta Nyako.
In another development, Isah Ali, a food supplier in Borno State who also pleaded guilty to the charges, was handed a ten-year jail term by Justice Nyako.
The judge ruled that his sentence would be backdated to three years ago, when he was first arrested and detained.
Nyako ordered that the convicts be placed in any detention facility designated by the Ministry of Interior and undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation at the end of their jail terms.
Also during Tuesday’s proceedings, Justice Nyako sentenced Hamza Yahuza, a father of six, to seven years’ imprisonment for selling Indian hemp and cigarettes to Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.
Yahuza admitted in court to committing the offence in 2023 and pleaded for forgiveness and leniency, which the judge rejected.
The court also dismissed his claim that poverty drove him to supply drugs and cigarettes to Boko Haram members.
He admitted supplying various drugs to terrorists in parts of Monguno Local Government Area, and Justice Nyako ruled that his sentence would run from March 6, 2023, the date of his arrest.
Following the defendants’ guilty pleas, the prosecution requested that the court convict them as charged, submitting their extra-judicial statements and investigation reports, which the court admitted as exhibits.
Another convict, Shehu Bukar, a father of three, was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for selling goats to Boko Haram terrorists in Borno State.
Bukar, facing a five-count charge, admitted to one count in open court. The federal government withdrew the four charges he denied, leaving him to face only the third count.
Nyako, after reviewing his confessional statement and investigation report, convicted and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment, rejecting his plea for leniency and noting the seriousness of terrorism in the country.
On the same day, 20 other suspected terrorists appeared before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja. Other trial judges included Justices Musa Liman, Akpan Ekerete, and others.
Some of the suspects in Justice Nyako’s cause list included Hamat Modu, Isah Ali, Awal Bello, Shehu Bukar, Alhaji Kulle, Mohammed Abacha Hassan, Aminami Mallum, Tasiu Yakubu, and Abdullahi Ali.
The trial attracted heavily armed security personnel in and around the Abuja Federal High Court, with roads leading to the court blocked for security reasons.
Speaking to newsmen after the proceedings, the AGF said a total of 227 suspects appeared before 10 judges of the Federal High Court, who would ordinarily be on Easter vacation. He commended the judges for prioritising the trial, adding:
“They have prioritised the trial of a terrorism suspect to underscore the importance attached to this trial. This is phase 9, don’t forget. For phase 9, we have 500 in all, and it will last either Friday or Saturday. It is our hope that of these 500, we will be able to go very, very far.”
Explaining the relocation of the trial from Kainji to Abuja, Fagbemi said:
“Whether the trial is in Kainji or Maiduguri, the people to try terrorism suspects are judges of the Federal High Court. For logistic reasons, it is not convenient to go to Kainji. It’s more convenient here. We have more courtrooms here, and the law enables us to sit here, which is why we are doing so.”
In his comments, the defence counsel and Director General of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, Aliyu Abubakar, noted that two of the charges related to suspects paying what they call “Zakat” to Boko Haram. He explained:
“When you pay money or give farm produce to Boko Haram, by way of appeasing them, it is considered part of terrorism financing.”
He added that the trial was somewhat easier because the majority of suspects admitted committing the crimes.
“This has been our experience over the years, and today’s trial is no different. A large number of them have also been convicted for associating with Boko Haram. Some of them are not active participants in Boko Haram or ISWAP activities, as the case may be. Under the law, association is considered as serious as committing an offence.
“Some of them were convicted for association. Happily, one or two people have been discharged and acquitted. For someone in detention for close to four or five years under military custody to be discharged, it shows the trial has a level of transparency. This is something we will continue until Friday or even beyond.”
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