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Federal government said it successfully prosecuted 1,500 terrorism cases and secured 397 convictions in seven years.
The attorney general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami during a ministerial scorecard of the Justice Sector from 2015 till date, said a total of 3000 cases have been profiled in seven years and convictions have been secured. Malami said, “A total of 3,000 terrorism cases have been profiled to date out of which over 1500 cases were prosecuted, with 397 convictions realised.”
He also said a total of 7,000 cases involving various offences including kidnapping, armed robbery, vandalism, and cybercrime, amongst others, were “successfully prosecuted”.
The AGF said the ministry is coordinating the next phase of terrorism related trials in collaboration with the Federal High Court, the Legal Aid Council, and the Defence Headquarters. He also confirmed the recent release of 30 awaiting trial persons (ATPs) from the Keffi Correctional Centre as well as the release of 101 suspected terrorists from the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre “who have spent over 10 years in custody without trial before the Federal High Court in Lagos”.
Also, during his scorecard presentation, the AGF said the federal government recovered £6.3m, €5.4m, and $390,000 of its assets were stolen by corrupt government officials and taken to foreign countries.
He said part of the recovered amount has been used on projects such as the reconstruction of Abuja–Kano Expressway, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway and the construction of the Second Niger Bridge in the South-East.
“In compliance with presidential mandates and foreign judicial processes, the Ministry has recovered total sums of £6,324,627.66, €5,494,743.71 and $390,000,000 from various jurisdictions. Some of the recovered funds are being utilized in the financing of critical infrastructure including Abuja – Kano Expressway, Second Niger Bridge, and Lagos – Ibadan Expressway,” he said.
The minister also said the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari realised a sum of N1.8bn locally from the sale of forfeited assets between 2015 till date. “A total sum of N1,823,788,146.86 (One Billion, Eight Hundred and Twenty-Three Million, Seven Hundred & Eighty-Eight Thousand, One Hundred and Forty-Six Thousand naira, Eighty-Six kobo) has been generated so far by the Ministry, from the forfeited properties,” Malami said.
(leadership.ng)
