Court permits accelerated trial of suspected terrorist Al-Barnawi, 4 others

The Federal High Court has granted a supplication by the Department of State Services (DSS) to expedite proceedings successful the proceedings of the suspected mastermind of the Aug. 26, 2011, bombing of the UN Building successful Abuja, Khalid Al-Barnawi and 4 others.

Justice Emeka Nwite granted the petition aft the DSS lawyer, Alex Iziyon, SAN, moved the exertion connected the crushed that the work is prepared to guarantee that the lawsuit is determined expeditiously.

In the application, which was not opposed by the respective defendants’ counsel, parties would beryllium allowed to ticker video recordings presented by the DSS to beryllium that the extrajudicial statements fixed by the suspects were done voluntarily, arsenic against the assertion of immoderate of the defendants.

It was agreed that the video clips would beryllium played successful the beingness of the tribunal registrar and parties would instrumentality notes, aft which they would instrumentality to the tribunal successful the adjacent adjourned date.

Justice Nwite past adjourned the substance until Oct. 23 and Oct. 24 for continuation of the trial-within-trial.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the DSS had, successful April 2016, arrested Al-Barnawi successful Lokoja successful Kogi, 5 years aft the onslaught connected the Abuja UN Building.

The attack, the archetypal of specified successful Nigeria connected an planetary organisation, near implicit 20 persons dormant and implicit 70 others injured.

However, respective ineligible and administrative issues had stalled Al-Barnawi’s trial, which began soon aft his apprehension successful 2016.

NAN reports that Al-Barnawi is being prosecuted connected coercion related charges on with different suspected members of his group.

Other co-defendants see Mohammed Bashir Saleh; Umar Mohammed Bello, a.k.a Datti; Mohammed Salisu and Yakubu Nuhu, a.k.a Bello Maishayi.

They are among others, accused of being members of Ansaru violent group, besides known arsenic Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan.

The defendants are besides alleged to person conspired among themselves to transportation retired acts of coercion betwixt 2011 and 2013 successful Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and different states successful the bluish portion of the country.

The U.S. had, successful 2012, placed a $5 cardinal (£3.5m) bounty connected Al-Barnawi’s caput aft branding him 1 of 3 Nigerian “specially designated planetary terrorists.”

Ansaru is said to beryllium ideologically aligned to al-Qaeda successful the Islamic Maghreb and is besides accused of sidesplitting a fig of Westerners.

Ansaru was reported to person claimed that it carried retired an onslaught connected a maximum information situation successful Abuja successful 2012 during which dozens of inmates were freed. (NAN)

The station Court permits accelerated proceedings of suspected violent Al-Barnawi, 4 others appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.