Falana SAN Asks AGF, Malami To Disclose Charges Filed Against 400 Suspected Funders Of Boko Haram, Bandits

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has written to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), requesting for information on the prosecution of over 400 suspects arrested for funding Boko Haram, bandits.

It had been reported in April that dozens of persons were arrested by security agencies during a nationwide crackdown on the suspected financiers and collaborations.

They were reportedly arrested in an operation being coordinated by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), and in collaboration with the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The operation was said to have been approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2020.

Some of those arrested include Baba Usaini, Abubakar Yellow (Amfani), Yusuf Ali Yusuf (Babangida), Ibrahim Shani, Auwal Fagge, and Muhammad Lawan Sani, a gold dealer.

They were reportedly being kept in military and DSS facilities in Abuja and other places.

Confirming the report a few days after, Malami said the Nigerian government embarked on “a wider and far-reaching investigations” into terrorism financing after the conviction of Boko Haram financiers in the United Arab Emirates.

In a letter titled ‘REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ON PERSECUTION OF ARRESTED 400 SPONSORS OF TERRORISM IN NIGERIA’, Falana commended the move by the Nigerian government to prosecute the suspects.

The lawyer however raised some concerns about their prosecution and asked Malami to respond within seven days, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act.

The letter dated August 3 read, “On May 04, it was widely reported in the print and electronic media that the Federal Government had concluded arrangements to prosecute about 400 alleged sponsors and financiers of terrorism in Nigeria. In the said publication, your office assured the nation that the suspects would be arraigned after the industrial action recently embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN).

In view of the terrorist attacks being unleashed on law abiding citizens by the groups of insurgents in several parts of the country, we strongly commend the move by the Federal Government to prosecute the suspects who were reported to have been arrested in a nationwide operation a few months ago.

“We, however, request that our law firm be furnished with information with respect to when criminal charges were filed against the suspects since the strike by JUSUN has been called off. Kindly ensure that we are furnished with the requested information within 7 days of the receipt of this letter in accordance with the provisions of Freedom of Information Act.”