The Federal Government on Monday, 15 June, 2026 commenced another round of mass trial of over 400 of the suspected terrorists in Abuja.
It was gathered that the mass trial initiative is part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to clear the backlog of terrorism cases and accelerate justice for offences linked to insurgency and armed criminal networks across the country.
It was also gathered that the terrorists would be arraigned simultaneously at the Federal High Court with different judges.
The trials are expected to run for one week, with Justices Binta Nyako, Emeka Nwite, Musa Liman, James Omotosho, Obiora Egwuatu, and Ekerete Akpan among the bench of judges handling the proceedings.
The prosecution is being led by the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, while the Director-General of the Legal Aid Council, Aliyu Abubakar, headed the defence team.
Before Justice Nwite alone, 58 suspected terrorists were listed for trial, including Abba Bukar, Abba Manye, Gujja Mala Bukar, Brem Gonimi, Isa Mohammed, Lawali Dashiri Danke, Yau Tukur, also known as Mai-Auduga, and Bello Liman, alias Bell Doctor, among others.
Monday, 15 June, 2026, proceedings represent the latest phase in an ongoing federal effort to prosecute terrorism suspects in bulk.
In the previous phase, at least 500 alleged terrorists were tried between April 7 and April 10 in Abuja, in what Fagbemi described as phase nine of the mass trial exercise.
Source: The Punch Online
