Tinubu Govt Speaks On Prosecution Of Suspected Boko Haram Terrorists

The Tinubu-led administration has disclosed that efforts are ongoing to resume the trial and prosecution of suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), made this known on Thursday at an event in Abuja.

Fagbemi said the federal government is serious about bringing suspected terrorists to justice and is finalising plans to ensure their smooth and successful trial.

The minister said the federal government would also adopt virtual trials to prevent delay, adding that it would not shy away from the responsibility of providing funds for the purpose.

He said: “Efforts are on to resume the trial of those categories of people. And I think, in the next two weeks, it will be a different story. We are conscious of that issue.

“Facilities are being put in place. Apart from the regular physical mode of trial, we are working on ways to ensure that virtual trial can also be conducted.”

Speaking further, Fagbemi said regional and international cooperation is required in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

He said: “Our ability to tackle the most complex criminal activity, money laundering and violent terrorist attacks, is predicated on the capabilities of our supervisory, law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities.

“The outcomes that we are achieving point to the need for greater investment in human and technical resources and improved training and capacity development.

“In 2022, we increased the budgets for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by almost 95 per cent.

“We now have over 1,500 officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting money laundering across these three agencies alone.
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“These sustained investments have seen increased numbers of investigations, prosecutions and convictions consistently since 2021, with 5,118 investigations, 1,509 prosecutions and almost 500 convictions secured, resulting in over N45 billion of illicit proceeds seized.”