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Africa Subsaharan
Nigeria Frees 475 Boko Haram Suspects for Lack of Evidence
2018-02-19
[AnNahar] Nigeria has freed another 475 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...
suspects following a series of mass trials in which most cases were dropped for lack of evidence, the justice ministry said Sunday.

Over the course of the week, hundreds of suspected Boko Haram bully boyz have appeared before a court at the Kainji military base in central Niger state.

The release order was issued on Friday, with the 475 suspects to be returned to their home states for "proper rehabilitation" before being sent back to their families, ministry front man Salihu Othman Isah said.

He said they had been jugged
Into the paddy wagon wit' yez!
on grounds they either belonged to Boko Haram, or had concealed information about the group's plans or its members' whereabouts.

"However,
a good lie finds more believers than a bad truth...
the Prosecution Counsel could not charge them with any offence due to lack of sufficient evidence against them. Therefore, the suspects were released."

Among those released was a maiden of tender years with a three-month-old baby from Borno State who was taken to a Boko Haram enclave by her brother and married off to his friend when she was 11. She was arrested in 2014 while trying to escape.

Also freed were two mechanics, identical twins who were arrested in Bauchi State in 2010 after servicing a vehicle at their workshop which belonged to a Boko Haram member.

Also Friday, the court imposed a second 15-year sentence on Haruna Yahaya, 35, who was involved in the 2014 kidnapping of more than 200 schoolgirls from Chibok.

Earlier in the week, he had been jugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
for 15 years but the court handed him an additional 15-year term, with the judge saying the two sentences would run consecutively.

- Years without trial -
In total, some 1,669 people have been processed in a string of mass hearings which began in October at four specially-constituted civilian courts inside the facility.

Most were men, but their number also included some women and kiddies, with Nigeria widely criticized for holding them and thousands of others for years without trial or even contact with a lawyer.

Before Friday's release of 475 suspects, 468 had been freed after it was found they had no case to answer; 45 were jugged
Maw! They're comin' to get me, Maw!
for between two and 15 years and 28 had their cases transferred to other jurisdictions.

A further 82 pleaded guilty in exchange for a lesser sentence or release, taking into account time served in jug. And others were freed after spending years behind bars.

The remaining cases have been delayed for another hearing.
Posted by:trailing wife

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