Why FG can’t yet name, shame sponsors of terrorism- Malami

*Says no stone will be left unturned to bring them to book

*‘285 cases filed against Boko Haram sponsors’

ANDREW OROLUA, ABUJA

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), says the Federal Government cannot name and shame suspected financiers of terrorism before they are tried and convicted.

Malami said this during an interview with journalists in New York in continuation of the ongoing 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by his media aide, Dr. Umar Jibrilu Gwandu, the AGF said the suspects will eventually be made public, adding that “shaming remains a consequence of judicial conviction”.

He said: “Naming and shaming of suspects is not embarked upon as a policy by the Federal Government out of sheer respect the constitutional rights of Nigerians relating to presumption of innocence.

“It is a product of constitutionalism and the law. It is rooted in the law and the names of the suspects will accordingly be made public at the point of judicial arraignment while the trials are judicial processes and not about media sensations.

“Naming and shaming in the Nigerian context must be rooted in constitutionalism. We must strike a balance between constitutional presumption of innocence and evidential proof of reasonable ground for suspicion in making disclosures associated with terrorism funding and financing.

“Where reasonable grounds are established, suspects must be naturally taken to court at which point their identity must be disclosed and the naming becomes apparent. Shaming, on the other hand, is the product of conviction at which point the public is equally judicially put on notice.

“In essence, naming and shaming within the context of Nigerian law are judicial functions which commence with arraignment and terminate with convictions.”

The AGF added that the Federal Government has been vigorously and intensively working to leave no stone unturned in the prosecution of Boko Haram financiers and the fight against terrorism in the country, adding that 285 cases have been filed against Boko Haram sponsors out of over 1000 Boko Haram case files received by the department of public prosecution of the ministry.

The delay witnessed in the prosecution process, the statement added, was occasioned by COVID-19 lockdown, Judiciary Staff Union (JUSUN) strike and court vacation.

“As per as terrorism funding and financing is concerned, we’ve succeeded in identifying those that are responsible for funding and we are blocking the leakages associated with funding and embarking on aggressive investigation that is impacting positively in terms of the fight against terrorism.

“Investigation is ongoing and for the purpose of investigation, I wouldn’t like to be preemptive in terms of making disclosures that would have the effect of undermining the successes we are recording as far as investigation is concerned.

“But one thing I can tell you for sure is that whatever we do in terms of detention or arrest is indeed backed by judiciary process. We obtained legitimate court orders taking into what we have presented before the court and the court exercised its discretion in terms of granting orders that we can have them in custody, pending the conclusion of investigation,” the minister added.

Furthermore, Malami said the Federal Government is working on the recovery of stolen assets, including £200 million currently stashed in a foreign country.

He said there will also be discussions on reviewing the process for the recovery of stolen funds from foreign countries.

“As far as the meeting I intend to attend in Washington DC by tomorrow (today) is concerned, we are looking at the possibility of recovering further 200 million pounds, among others. But then, that does not mean there are no other associated assets being pursued, in terms of other countries of the world, inclusive of Ireland.

“We are pursuing a lot of assets across the globe and then we intend to coordinate further meetings relating to recovery in the United Kingdom, which is associated with certain personalities.

“We are building consensus in terms of driving resolutions, processes and procedures associated with asset recovery.

“So, while we are pursuing the recovery of the assets in their own right, we are equally trying as much as possible, to see what we can do in terms of building consensus around making the process of asset recovery easier locally and internationally,” the AGF said.