The Federal High Court in Borno has ordered the release of 313 suspected terrorists arrested by the military due to lack of evidence. This decision comes as the Defence Headquarters announced that troops had neutralised 121 terrorists, apprehended 253 suspects, and rescued 244 kidnapped hostages in various operations across Nigeria in one week.
Maj. Gen. Buba Edward, the Director of Defence Media Operations, revealed these developments during a briefing on military operations in Abuja. He assured that the military would comply with the court order and hand over the suspects to the Borno State government for further action.
This move highlights ongoing challenges in prosecuting terrorism-related cases, as evidenced by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who previously stated that out of 1,323 suspects prosecuted for terrorism, only 366 convictions were secured, while 896 were discharged due to lack of evidence.
Regarding recent military operations, Maj. Gen. Buba Edward reported that in the North-East, troops of Operation Hadin Kai neutralised 52 terrorists, arrested 137 suspects, and rescued 78 kidnapped hostages. Similar operations in the North Central and North-West resulted in the neutralisation of 47 and 62 terrorists respectively, along with the recovery of a significant cache of arms.
