Over 500 Nigerian terror suspects to face trial

Authority of the Nigerian Defense on Wednesday said it has recommended immediate trial of over 500 persons apprehended in the course of security operations against terrorists in northeast states of Yobe, Borno and Adamawa. This came barely 48 hours after gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram fighters in the early hours of Monday launched a massive attack on the Nigerian Air Force Base and some other military formation in northeast city of Maiduguri in Borno State, killing an undisclosed number of people, and forced the government to impose a 24-hour curfew. The suspects are among the almost 1,400 detainees screened by the Joint Investigation Team set up by the Defense Headquarters at the detention facilities in Maiduguri, Yola and Damaturu between July and September, Chris Olukolade, spokesperson of Nigeria's armed forces said in a statement made available to Xinhua. Olukolade said the over 500 recommended for immediate trial include high profile suspects some of whom were training other terrorists in weapon handling as well as those who confessed to being trained in Mali and other countries for the purpose of perpetrating terror in Nigeria. Among those recommended for trial are a Medical Doctor, paramilitary or service personnel who were fighting on the side of the terrorists and other individuals who offered direct logistics support to the terrorists, the armed forces' mouthpiece said. According to him, the team also recommended the release of 167 of the detainees from detention in Maiduguri, Yola and Damaturu. About 614 others whose cases were inconclusive have been recommended for review, he added, noting that the report also proposed that some of the detainees be tried for other offenses ranging from armed robbery, murder to drugs related offenses. "If the recommendations of the team sails through, the trial of some of the suspects will be held in the states while others may be tried at the Federal level by High Courts," Olukolade said. The Nigerian authority had in July set up a 19-member Joint Investigation Team of senior officers to screen and categorize detainees apprehended in the course of operations in the northeast states. The Nigerian House of Representatives recently approved a six- month extension of a state of emergency in three northeastern states where the military is battling rebels. President Goodluck Jonathan ordered extra troops into the northeast as part of the six-month emergency rule declared in May, in an effort to crush Boko Haram, which has killed thousands of people during its four-year rebellion. The Nigerian leader asked the national assembly on Nov. 6 to extend emergency rule in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states. Boko Haram has been proved the biggest security threat in the West African country since it launched the insurgency in 2009.