Tinubu Govt Spends N1.4bn On Boko Haram, Terrorist Rehabilitation

• FG spent N1.4bn on rehabilitating terrorists and secret trials.
• Over 325 terrorists were convicted, some receiving life imprisonment sentences.
• Experts criticize secret trials, questioning transparency and procedural fairness.

The Federal Government has spent approximately N1.4bn on rehabilitating repentant terrorists and establishing centers for terrorism trials in the last year and a half.

This is part of broader efforts under the National Counter-Terrorism Centre (NCTC), created after former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Bill into law on May 12, 2022.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the government announced plans in December 2022 to set up disarmament, deradicalisation, rehabilitation, and reintegration centers for former Boko Haram and other terrorist group members.

Rear Admiral Yem Musa (retd.), Coordinator of the NCTC, revealed to the House of Representatives Committee on National Security and Intelligence that N2.4bn was earmarked for these centers as part of NCTC’s N3.8bn 2023 capital projects.

According to GovSpend, a civic tech platform, between December 2022 and May 2024, the Ministry of Justice disbursed N1.4bn on rehabilitation center construction and renovating a building for terrorism trials.

In March 2023, N612m was paid to three firms for various projects, including dormitory construction for Operation Safe Corridor.

Significant payments included N286.7m to El-haby Concept Limited for renovating a trial facility at Giwa Barracks and N303.7m to Fosab Global Energy Service Limited for constructing a rehabilitation center.

By 2024, an additional N179m was paid to three firms for related projects. Payments included N11.5m to Jayjaysen Integrated Links Ltd and N16.4m to Estergel Ltd for procuring computers and accessories to aid terrorism prosecutions.

In December 2024, the NCTC disclosed that it secured 325 terrorism convictions at the Kainji Detention Facility across two trial phases. Sentences ranged from death penalties to life imprisonment.

However, the government has remained silent on the commencement of Phase 7 trials, sparking criticism over the secretive nature of the proceedings.

While some experts, like Lekan Jackson-Ojo, criticized secret trials for lacking transparency, others, such as Kabir Adamu, defended them for security reasons, emphasizing the need for compliance with legal standards. Opinions remain divided over the secrecy of these proceedings and their implications for justice and national security.

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