North East governors bemoan inability to try Boko Haram suspects

Governors of the states battling with Boko Haram terrorism in the North-East have asked the Federal Government to issue a special fiat, different from the general one issued earlier, to enable them to speedily prosecute suspects arrested for terrorism.

In separate interviews with Sunday PUNCH, the governors of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states who spoke through their Commissioners of Justice and Attorneys General, noted that the fiat issued by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, which allowed states to prosecute federal offences, was not enough to prosecute suspected terrorists.

Boko Haram insurgents had been at war with the Nigerian state since 2009 and the terrorists have killed millions of Nigerians, including women, children and pupils; many more have been displaced while some have gone missing for years with no trace of their whereabouts.

Reports said there are about 5,000 Boko Haram suspects located in different custodial centres in the country, and the Federal Ministry of Justice had proposed N2bn for its legal services in the 2021 fiscal year.

The Solicitor-General of the Federation, Dayo Apata, said in November during the ministry’s budget defence at the Senate that N350m from the sum would be used for the prosecution of Boko Haram suspects.

He added, “On the trial and prosecution of Boko Haram (suspects), you will recall that last year we had to create a jurisdiction in Kanji Dam in which 3,000 inmates were prosecuted. How do you prosecute 3,000 inmates in a place? We had to bring four judges from the Federal High Court and pay the legal aides.

“When we look at the N2bn, it’s a tip of the iceberg of what it intends to do. Presently, there is a camp in Maiduguri which we are going for another prosecution. This is what the N2bn is going to do. So, there is no overlapping.”

Already, there are concerns over the delay in the prosecution of thousands of arrested Boko Haram suspects. This is in addition to a lawsuit filed by about 101 suspects against the Federal Government challenging their continuous detention for 12 years without prosecution. In the suit filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos, the suspects also asked the court to free them and direct the Federal Government to pay them N303m as compensation.

In November 2020, however, governors in the North-East, under the auspices of the North-East Governors’ Forum, at a meeting in Yola, the Adamawa State capital, asked the AGF for fiat for the states to prosecute terrorist suspects instead of transferring the cases to Abuja.

The chairman of the forum and governor of Borno State, Prof Babagana Zulum, said at the event, “At the moment, the process is a bit cumbersome as all suspects charged with terrorism and terrorist-related offences have to be transferred to Abuja for prosecution, as only the Attorney-General of the Federation has the statutory powers to prosecute terrorists; according to the provisions of the anti-terrorism law.

“We need to obtain prosecutorial fiat from the Attorney-General to enable us to prosecute those charged with terrorism in our respective states, instead of referring them to Abuja.”

Meanwhile, The PUNCH reported on October 7, 2016, that the AGF issued the fiat at a meeting with the state AGs on the said date in 2016.

The Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Dr Umar Gwandu, and some state Attorneys General also confirmed to our correspondents on Thursday that the minister wrote all the Attorneys General, giving states the permission to prosecute suspects arrested for federal offences in their domain.

Sequel to the fresh request by the governors that they needed a fiat amid concerns over the delay in prosecuting the Boko Haram suspects, Sunday PUNCH asked some of the affected states why they were requesting for a fiat when one was issued since 2016.

The attorneys general of some of the states told our correspondents that they needed a special fiat from the AGF to prosecute the suspected terrorists, claiming that the one issued previously did not cover terrorism.

The Commissioner for Justice in Borno State, Mr Kaka Shehu Lawan, confirmed receiving from the AGF the “general fiat” to prosecute federal offenders but noted that they needed “specific” fiat for cases related to Boko Haram.

Shehu, who spoke on behalf of Zulum, told one of our correspondents in an interview, “Yes I am in receipt of the general fiat by the Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute all offenders who commit federal offences in any of the 36 states of the federation but he (Malami) didn’t give us a specific fiat to prosecute Boko Haram insurgents.

“What we want from the Attorney General of the Federation is for him to give us a specific fiat and collaboration to prosecute Boko Haram insurgents in the three states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states where the Boko Haram insurgents commit crime against the Nigerian federation.”

Similarly, the Commissioner for Justice in Yobe State, Saleh Samanja, admitted receiving the fiat from the AGF, noting however that the state would need a special fiat to prosecute Boko Haram suspects if it had any in its correctional centres, but that it did not have any of the suspects at the moment.

Samanja, who spoke on behalf of Governor Mai Mala Buni, said, “Yobe has no Boko Haram suspect in any of the correctional centres in the state, but even if we have any, we will need specific fiat from the AGF to prosecute the terrorists because terrorism is a federal offence. We have the general fiat to prosecute federal offences, but with a specific fiat, we can prosecute the insurgents.”

In Gombe State, which had been hit by the terrorist group in the past, the Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Zubair Umar, also confirmed as true that the Attorney General of the Federation granted fiat for states to prosecute some federal cases and not all cases.

Umar, who spoke on behalf of Governor Yahaya Inuwa, added, “I can recall a fiat from the Attorney General of the Federation, but it’s not for all (federal) cases if I remember correctly. I think there was a letter from the AGF sometimes back, giving states fiat to handle some but not all cases.”

Umar explained that he could not ascertain whether there were Boko Haram suspects in the state, but that if the state had any and was empowered to prosecute them, it had qualified personnel to do it.

He added, “There may be one or two (suspects) but it has not come to our attention officially. I don’t have such information at the moment, as you know it (terrorism) is a federal offence and we don’t normally know what is happening because it is handled by some agencies different from state ministries. So, I can’t say whether there are some or not.

However, we have qualified personnel to prosecute them. It is one of the decisions of the North-East Governors’ Forum that the Attorney General of the Federation should give state governments the fiat to prosecute Boko Haram cases and we are ready. We are just waiting for the case files and the fiat.”

But the Adamawa State Commissioner for Justice, Chief Afraimu Jingi, said on Friday that he had yet to receive such correspondence from the AGF, noting however that they needed such fiat in the North-East to prosecute the suspected terrorists.

Jingi, who spoke on behalf of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, said, “I am not aware of such correspondence or directive. If there is ever such a directive, it will be made through the governors and the governors would direct us. The directive will not come to us. In fact, we have been looking forward to that instruction.”

States free to prosecute all federal offences – Malami

Meanwhile, the AGF told one of our correspondents that the fiat issued to states by the AGF was open ended and since then states were free to prosecute all federal offences because it had not been withdrawn.

He said, “On the 30th day of January, 2017, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), wrote to the Attorneys General of the 36 states of the federation granting them non-transferable fiat to prosecute federal offences committed in their jurisdictions without further recourse is real and not a hoax, and the fiat granted has not been withdrawn.

“This is in the exercise of the powers conferred on the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice by the provisions of Section 174(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). Therefore, the AGF authorised all the Attorneys General in the 36 states of the federation to exercise on his behalf.

“The said powers conferred upon me with particular reference to the prosecution of Federal Offences which may arise within your jurisdiction and which may be practically impossible for the Office of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute.

“I am not certain that the state’s Attorneys General who are legal luminaries will be demanding for ‘Special Fiat’ through PUNCH  Reporter. Which fiat is special? Which fiat is not special? What constitutes ‘Special Fiat’? Were there any efforts of/by such states’ Attorneys General to convey their “insistence” to the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice since five years ago?”

When asked if the AGF would again write to the states to remind them of the power already transferred to them by virtue of the fiat following the request by the North-East Governors’ Forum, Gwandu said the media should continue to sensitise the general public to the operations, policies, decisions and activities of the government.

He added, “The fact that such fiat was granted was never in doubt. What remains now is for the media to sensitise (them to it) and make the information on such fiat widely available to the general public. There are laid-down processes of conveying information and seeking for such in a governmental operation.

“The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice has always been available to serve public interest within the context of extant laws. Abubakar Malami (SAN) as the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is not averse to whatever is of public interest and that which does not violate the provisions of the extant laws.”

“The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice is ready to do the needful as swiftly as possible within the context of extant laws and regulations governing the operations of service. It might interest you to inquire about the corresponding steps taken by the states Attorneys General to see to the effective implementation of the fiat that was sent to them five years ago that is in 2017.” (Sunday PUNCH)