There was a flurry of legal fireworks at the 13 courtrooms at the headquarters of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday as the federal government kickstarted the mass trial of suspects charged with terrorism offences.
The trial, which usually takes place at Kainji in Niger State, was moved to Abuja since the court is currently on Easter vacation.
The vacation, which commenced on Tuesday (today), will end on Monday, and regular court sittings will resume on April 14, across all divisions of the court.
Some of the trial judges are Binta Nyako, Emeka Nwite, Musa Liman, and Akpan Ekerete.
Rotimi Oyedepo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, led the team of the federal government’s lawyers before trial judge, Nyako.
Aliyu Abubakar, the Director General of the Legal Aid Council, led the defence team of lawyers for the 20 suspected terrorists before the judge.
Some of the suspected terrorists listed for hearing before Nyako include Hamat Modu, Isah Ali, Awal Bello, Shehu Bukar, Alhaji Kulle,, Mohammed Abacha Hassan, Aminami Mallum, Tasiu Yakubu, Abdullahi Ali, among others.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that there were heavy security beef-up in and around the Abuja Federal High Court as all roads leading to the court were blocked by armed security personnel while police helicopter hovered around the Central Business District.
