President Bola Tinubu recently disclosed to the nation that over 100 terrorist financiers have been prosecuted and convicted in the last two years.
This feat is attributed to the efforts of the current administration in building a globally competitive economy to improve the livelihoods of Nigerians, who have been on the receiving end of worsening economic and security challenges.
Tinubu, through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator George Akume, at the opening of the 2025 National Anti-Money Laundering, Counter Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation (AML/CFT/CPF) Summit in Abuja, said his administration, in line with the National Counter-Terrorist Financing Strategy, has enhanced its ability to identify and pursue individuals who finance these violent acts, adding that, “through the efforts of the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) and the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), we have prosecuted and convicted over 100 terrorist financiers in the last two years.”
As a newspaper, we commend the federal government for this feat and advise that the administration intensify the current war against all forms of criminality, especially terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and violent self-determination agitations, which have brought the country and its citizenry to their knees since insurgents and separatists began their violent campaigns in the country.
We are, however, not comfortable with the secret trial of the convicted financiers of terrorism in the country.
Since the constitution of Nigeria, which is superior to any other laws of the land, provides for open and fair trials of suspects and accused persons, we are compelled to question the authorities’ decision to secretly try the convicts and the transparency of the entire process.
Several questions are begging for answers: When were they arrested and how were they arrested? Were the convicts arraigned before a competent court of jurisdiction or a quasi-judicial body? Did they have legal representation? How long was the duration of their trial and what were the charges preferred against them? Why were they given a secret trial?
Nigerians deserve answers to these questions because it is not in the public domain that any persons, whether Nigerians or foreigners, were ever arrested and prosecuted for terrorism financing.
In the considered opinion of this newspaper, the secret trial of terror sponsors by the government is entirely inconsistent with Nigeria’s commitment to upholding the principles of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.
The country’s constitution guarantees the right to a fair and public trial, and the use of secret trials violates this fundamental provision.
The secrecy of these trials makes it impossible for Nigerians to know the details of the cases, the evidence presented, and whether the true offenders were the ones arrested, prosecuted, and convicted.
This lack of transparency creates an environment prone to abuse of power, miscarriage of justice, and human rights violations. It also undermines the public’s trust in the government’s ability to fairly and impartially administer justice.
Why should those who sponsor terrorist groups, especially Boko Haram, which has wreaked havoc on the country since 2009, be given secret trials?
Nigerians need to know those who helped these insurgents commit various atrocities with devastating impact on them, their families, communities, and the country as a whole.
The terrorists continue their wanton killing of troops and civilians, including the elderly, women, and children, who have been turned into orphans and widows for no justifiable reason. Breadwinners have been killed by these agents of death and harbingers of doom, resulting in shattered dreams, displacement of natives from their ancestral homes, and serious humanitarian crises.
To date, school children, notably girls, have been abducted, forced into early and unwanted marriages, and subjected to forced labour.
It is sad, and a bitter pill for Nigerians to swallow, that these sponsors of atrocious acts against them, if they are truly nationals of this nation, are those whom the government is shielding from public view in their prosecution.
In our view, for Nigerians to believe the so-called trial and prosecution of the terror sponsors, the government should disclose their identities by publishing them in national dailies, including details such as pictures, names, local government and state of origin, offenses for which they were jailed, and the nature of the sentence.
This will prevent private and public institutions from engaging their services or doing business with them in the future.
We, therefore, urge the government to reconsider its approach to trying terrorism financiers and to ensure that all trials are conducted in a transparent and public manner. This is essential for maintaining public trust in the justice system and for upholding the principles of human rights and the rule of law.
Furthermore, the government should ensure that all defendants receive fair trials, with access to legal counsel, and that the evidence presented against them is credible and admissible in a court of law.
The fight against terrorism is a critical one, but it must be waged in a manner that respects the rights of all individuals and upholds the principles of justice and human rights. Secret trials have no place in a democratic society.
