Court concludes trial of Boko Haram suspects in Kainji, convicts 205

…Freed suspects rise to 526

The number of Boko Haram suspects in Kainji detention facility who regained their freedom rose from 475 to 526 as the Federal High Court sitting in Wawa Cantonment, Kainji, Niger State wound up.
Among the reasons for setting the 526 suspects free are want of evidence, under aged (minor) and persons suffering from mental illness.

The suspects were arrested at different states and detained in Wawa Cantonment on suspicion that they belonged to the Boko Haram terrorist group.

However, they were discharged by the court based on motion ex parte filed by the Federal Government prosecuting counsel for want of sufficient evidence pursuant to section 35(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).

Modu Maina, a native of Bama LG, Borno State was the only suspect discharged and acquitted by the Federal High Court Judge.

He was arrested in Ketu, Lagos State where he worked as a gateman.

Maina confessed that he was forcefully initiated into the Boko Haram group but relocated to Lagos to avoid being arrested in Bama.

He said that all the confessional statements he made to Joint Task Force (JTF) was under alleged torture.

The presiding judge, having reviewed the defendant’s written confessional statements, found him not guilty.

Also 205 detained suspects were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment based on count charges against them.

Most of them were convicted for professing to belong to the terrorist group, concealing information about the group which they knew or believed to be of material assistance that could lead to the arrest, prosecution or conviction of Boko Haram members.

Their jail term ranges from 3 to 60 years.

Most of the convicts said the fear of being killed could not allow them to report to the JTF or any security agencies coupled with the fact that most villages had been ravaged by the Boko Haram including the security posts.

They insisted that it was difficult and a dangerous venture for them to travel a long distance to log their report.

Alhaji Bukar Jindi sentenced to 16 years and 50 years on two count charges for professing to be a member of Boko Haram and for carrying out several attacks leading to loss of lives and properties.

The unremorseful and unrepentant suspect vowed to go back to crime if he is released.

He was arrested in 2015 at the age of 17 years. He will have to spend 50 years in prison with effect from the date of his arrest.