A Federal High Court in Borno has ordered the release of no fewer than 313 suspected terrorists arrested by the military.
The court ordered their release for lack of evidence to nail the suspects after the investigation.
The Director, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. Buba Edward, disclosed this during a briefing on military operations across the country on Thursday in Abuja.
He assured all that the military would comply with the court order and release the suspected terrorists to the state government.
Buba said, “During the week, as a follow up to a court order of the Federal High Court in Maiduguri, a total of 313 suspects in detention for terrorism-related offences were to be released to the Borno State government.
“The court ordered the release for want of evidence after the conclusion of the investigation and other ancillary matters.
“The cases were prosecuted by the Department of Prosecution, Federal Ministry of Justice. Accordingly, they would be handed over to the Borno State Government for further action.”
The PUNCH reports that this is not the first time suspected terrorists would be acquitted for want of evidence.
The Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), had on December 4, 2023, said out of a total of 1,323 suspects prosecuted for terrorism, only 366 convictions were secured.
He noted that 896 others were discharged for lack of evidence.
Fagbemi said, “I must acknowledge the fact that we have come a long way in this initiative. The first phase of the Kainji Prosecution Project commenced in October 2017 with remarkable achievements where we recorded a total of 366 convictions, 896 others were discharged for want of sufficient evidence and 61 other cases adjourned for further hearing.
“There have been three phases of the exercise so far, spanning between October 2017 and July 2018. I must, at this point, challenge all stakeholders to ensure that the momentum is sustained, seeing how important this assignment is to the well-being of our beloved country and her people.”
