Nigeria has started to put more than 500 people on trial for being involved in militant attacks. This is one of the largest terrorism trials in the country’s history.
The people who are accused of helping and encouraging terrorism, especially in the northeast where the Boko Haram Islamist group started an insurgency 17 years ago, are facing charges.
Since then, violence has spread to many other parts of the West African country, leaving communities, especially those in rural areas, at the mercy of growing militant groups and gangs that kidnap people for money.
The attorney general said that the mass trial began on Tuesday at a high court in the capital, Abuja, where 227 suspects were brought before 10 judges.
This year alone, bombings and other attacks in Nigeria have killed hundreds of people.
Very few people are ever charged with terrorism, and suspects are often held for years without going to trial.
The AFP news agency says that gunmen killed at least 20 people on Wednesday in Niger, which is in the west. People who live there say that the attackers broke into villages in Shiroro district, which is known to be home to kidnapping gangs and Islamist militants.
During the court session on Tuesday, security was very tight. Suspects were taken to court in heavily guarded convoys that were watched over by the military, police, and intelligence.
The Nigerian Bar Association and human rights groups were also in court as international observers.
The defendants are said to have been involved in attacks mostly in northern Nigeria. Others are accused of supporting militants by giving them money, weapons, and other supplies.
Five of the accused have already been sentenced to jail terms of seven to twenty years for crimes that included selling livestock and giving food and information to militant groups.
Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General, said that the size of the operation showed how serious the government was about dealing with the issue.He said, “The federal government is committed to making sure that due process is followed while bringing those who are involved in terrorism to justice.”
Bashir Galma, a retired major in the army and security expert, told the BBC that the trial, which is expected to continue in phases, was a “positive development” and a “significant milestone” in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.He said, “Nigerians have been complaining for years about why they keep these suspects [in custody] instead of making them face the law for what they are suspected of doing.”This will give people whose loved ones were killed or hurt some peace.
The analyst also said that the trial would put to rest rumors that suspects are often let go after being arrested “so they can go back to their terrorism business.”
But he thought that some of the accused might be let go soon because they were arrested a long time ago, which he said the judges would probably think about.
