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Trials begin for more than 1,600 Boko Haram suspects
[FOXNEWS] The trials of more than 1,600 suspected Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality...members have begun behind closed doors at a military barracks in northern Nigeria, the largest mass trial in the Islamic bad boy group's history. Nigeria's government is trying to show it is making progress against the group that has killed more than 20,000 people during its eight-year insurgency, but lawyers and rights groups are expressing concern about whether the suspects will have fair trials. The proceedings began Monday at the Wawa Military Cantonment. In Nigeria, such trials are often held behind closed doors to prevent sensitive security issues from being made public. But the government may have other security concerns, Sylvester Odion-Akhaine, an associate professor of political science at Lagos State University, told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named. "The government seems to have chosen a military facility to prevent an attack by Boko Haram," he said. The bully boyz in the past have attacked military barracks and prisons in efforts to free detained fighters. Lagos-based human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... lawyer Princewill Akpakpa expressed concern over whether the suspects will have proper trials behind closed doors. "If human rights organizations, lawyers and observers cannot access the trial venue, the fairness of the process will be put into question," Akpakpa said. Justice Binta Nyako said the trials will be fair. "We are here to ensure that nobody is persecuted. We are here for prosecution and so we have come with open minds," she said. Posted by: Fred 2017-10-12 |
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