Metro

Nigeria to resume trial of suspected terrorists in two weeks— Attorney-General

Published

3 weeks ago

November 17, 2023

The Nigerian government says it will resume the prosecution of some alleged suspected terrorists and their financiers in the next two weeks after a painstaking investigation.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), who disclosed this at the opening of the 40th technical commission and plenary meeting of the inter-governmental action group against money laundering in West Africa in Abuja on Thursday, said the trial of the alleged suspects was very much alive as against insinuations from certain quarters that the cases had been swept under the carpet. He added that the government was finalising efforts to ensure a smooth and successful trial.

“Efforts are on to resume the trial of those categories of people. And I think, in the next two weeks, it will be a different story. We are conscious of that issue,” the AGF said.

“Facilities are being put in place. Apart from the regular physical mode of trial, we are working on ways to ensure that virtual trials can also be conducted.”

According to Fagbemi, the adoption of virtual trials is aimed at preventing delay, insisting that the government was not shying away from its responsibility of providing funds for this purpose.

“The adoption of virtual trial is aimed at preventing delay. The government is not shying away from its responsibility of providing funds for this purpose”.

The AGF also emphasized the importance of regional and international cooperation in order to effectively combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

“Our ability to tackle the most complex criminal activity, money laundering, and violent terrorist attacks is predicated on the capabilities of our supervisory, law enforcement, and prosecutorial authorities, and the outcomes that we are achieving point to the need for greater investment in human and technical resources and improved training and capacity development.”

The AGF also stated that the Nigerian government was able to secure about 500 convictions which resulted in the recovery of over N45 billion in the last two years.

“In 2022, we increased the budgets for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by almost 95%. We now have over 1,500 officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting money laundering across these three agencies alone.

“These sustained investment has seen increased numbers of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions consistently since 2021 with 5,118 investigations, 1,509 prosecutions, and almost 500 convictions secured resulting in over N45 billion of illicit proceeds seized.

“We have also made progress in tackling the financing of terrorism and in particular, I am pleased that we have identified and designated a number of individuals and entities linked to terrorist activity and seized funds linked to them”, he stated.

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Metro

Zambian govt rejects ‘light’ sentence of PF chieftain, Kambwili, appeals for two-year term

Published

8 hours ago

December 8, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

The Zambian Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Gilbert Phiri, has rejected what he described as the light prison sentence of five months given to a stalwart of the Patriotic Front (PF), Chishimba Kambwili.

Kambwili, a former Foreign Affairs Minister, was last week convicted by a Kasama Resident Magistrate, Samson Mumba, after he was found guilty of hate speech against the Tonga people of Southern Province, and committed to the Milima Prison in Kasama District.

While delivering the judgement, Mumba said Kambwili was guilty of the offence of expressing hatred and ridicule for persons because of tribe and place of origin.

The former Minister of Information and Publicity was said to have issued anti-Tonga tribal remarks during the 2021 elections when he featured on a live radio programme.

He was later suspended for a month by the Electoral Commission of Zambia ( ECZ) over the said remarks.

But Phiri has rejected the five months jail term and is insisting that the offence should have carried a maximum of two years sentence.

The DPP, which filed an appeal at the Lusaka High Court, raised two grounds in the notice, arguing that Mumba had “erred in law when he sentenced the convict to a term of five months imprisonment with hard labour for the offence of hate speech which carries maximum sentence of two years.”

Phiri also argued that the trial “erred in law when it misapplied the principals of sentencing in relation to the gravity and nature of the offence committed.”

Metro

Tinubu talks tough, vows punishment for anyone culpable in deadly bombing of civilians

Published

10 hours ago

December 8, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria has vowed that any individual found culpable in the bombing of Tudun Biri village in Kaduna State, North-West Nigeria, where over 120 civilians were killed last Sunday, will not go unpunished.

Tinubu, who made the vow on Thursday, also assured that all the injured victims would be well taken care of by the government under the Folako Initiative which would commence later this month, while the affected communities would be rebuilt under the new intiative.

Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, embarked on a visit alongside a high-powered government delegation to wounded victims at Barau Dikko Teaching Hospital, Kaduna. He explained that the government would do everything possible to ensure that such an unfortunate incident dod not occur again.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sent us to commensurate with the people of Kaduna over the tragic incident,” Shettima said.

“The calibre of people that are here with me is a testimony on how deeply touched the president was by the incident.

“The President was deeply touched by what happened. We will like to assure the people and government of Kaduna State that the government will take measures to protect and preserve the interest of our nation.

“The victims will be well taken care of under the Fulako Initiative which will commence by this month and this community will be the first to be rebuilt in north west zone.

“All measures will be taken to ensure that future occurrence is averted. Government will get to the root of the issue and anyone found culpable will be punished accordingly,” Shettima added.