Nigeria to begin trial for 5,000 Boko Haram suspects
Caption: Boko Haram’s insurgency in northeast Nigeria began in 2009. (Wikimedia Commons)
Nigeria’s federal government announced on February 23 that it will begin trials for 5,000 suspected Boko Haram members currently being held in detention centers across the country. The statement came from Director-General of Legal Aid Council (LAC) Aliyu Abubakar during a visit with Borno governor Babagana Zulum. Abubakar stated that the trial will be conducted by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Office of the National Security Adviser in partnership with the Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole. The LAC will provide legal counsel to the defendants; thus far, the LAC has interviewed 283 suspects to investigate potential crimes committed.
Boko Haram is a militant terrorist organization with origins in northern Nigeria, beginning its insurgency in 2009. The group’s main objective is to overthrow the Nigerian government and establish an Islamic state. Boko Haram drew international attention after kidnapping more than 200 girls from their school in 2014. In Boko Haram-related conflict, more than 30,000 have been killed, and approximately 2 million have been displaced from their homes.
The 5,000 Boko Haram militants facing trial are being accused on tried for charges of terrorism.
Though Abubakar did not divulge the exact logistics of the trial, Nigeria’s federal government is familiar with mass trials. The AGF conducted three phases of mass trials in 2017 and 2018, which investigated more than 5,000 suspected Boko Haram members. The trials began in October 2017 with four judges presiding over four courts in a military facility. However, most defendants at the time were charged solely with providing material and non-violent support to Boko Haram, such as repairing vehicles, giving members food, or washing their clothes.
The 2017/2018 mass trials exposed major shortcomings of the Nigerian government’s ability to conduct free and fair trials for all defendants. Before the trials began, the International Criminal Court (ICC) released a statement voicing its concern over the organization of the trials and whether it could provide all defendants with effective legal counsel and a fair trial. The first phase of the trials barred media and civil rights groups from attending, drawing concerns from human rights groups, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The two subsequent phases allowed for a small number of nongovernmental groups and media outlets to attend.
Some defendants reported they were unable to consult with their lawyer until the day of the trial. The Human Rights Watch reported that the trials they observed lacked prosecutable evidence and relied heavily upon the defendant’s confession. The courts also lacked official interpreters and relied on the use of untrained unofficial interpreters. Most proceedings were short, limiting the time for officials to properly adjudicate the charge. Furthermore, the sheer number of defendants charged in the “material support” category limited the availability of resources to prosecute those charged with more serious offenses.
The upcoming trials may not be affected by the same legal shortcomings as the 2017/2018 mass trials. However, the 2017/2018 trials exposed limitations in the ability of Nigeria’s criminal justice system to fairly conduct trials of such proportions. In anticipation of the upcoming trial, Abubakar stated that all legal requirements will be fulfilled and all evidence will be presented in court. He emphasized that regardless of the charges against the defendants, Nigeria’s justice system upholds that all are innocent until proven guilty.