Besieged but not relenting: ensuring fair trials for Nigeria’s terrorism suspects

New approaches are needed to overcome existing criminal justice challenges in the country.

Nigeria’s criminal justice system is dealing with thousands of people in mass trials related to terrorism offences – including those committed by suspected Boko Haram members. Having conducted three phases of trials between 2017 and 2018, with each phase lasting no more than five days, the system is struggling to ensure fair trials for terrorism suspects who have been arrested and detained by Nigeria’s military. The seemingly siloed response to the fight against terrorism by the criminal justice system and the military compounds the problem.

About the authors

Allan Ngari is a Senior Researcher in the ISS’ Complex Threats in Africa Programme working on international criminal justice. He is an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya.

Akinola Olojo is a Senior Researcher in the ISS’ Complex Threats in Africa Programme. He has a PhD from the Université Paris Descartes.

 
Picture: Amelia Broodryk/ISS