Fagbemi: FG will resume prosecution of suspected terrorists in two weeks

Lateef Fagbemi, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and minister of justice, says the federal government will resume the prosecution of some alleged terrorists in the next two weeks.

Fagbemi spoke on Thursday at the opening of the 40th technical commission and plenary meeting of the inter-governmental action group against money laundering in West Africa (GIABA).

The event held in Abuja.

According to Punch, Fagbemi said the federal government is serious about bringing suspected terrorists to justice and is finalising plans to ensure their smooth and successful trial.

He said the federal government would also adopt virtual trial which is aimed at preventing delay.

He added that they would not shy away from the responsibility of providing funds for the purpose.

“Efforts are on to resume the trial of those categories of people. And I think, in the next two weeks, it will be a different story. We are conscious of that issue,” he said.

“Facilities are being put in place. Apart from the regular physical mode of trial, we are working on ways to ensure that virtual trial can also be conducted.”

The AGF said in combating money laundering, terrorist financing, and the financing of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional and international cooperation is required.

“Our ability to tackle the most complex criminal activity, money laundering and violent terrorist attacks, is predicated on the capabilities of our supervisory, law enforcement and prosecutorial authorities,” he said.

“The outcomes that we are achieving point to the need for greater investment in human and technical resources and improved training and capacity development.

“In 2022, we increased the budgets for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, and National Drug Law Enforcement Agency by almost 95 percent.

“We now have over 1,500 officers dedicated to investigating and prosecuting money laundering across these three agencies alone.

“These sustained investments have seen increased numbers of investigations, prosecutions and convictions consistently since 2021, with 5,118 investigations, 1,509 prosecutions and almost 500 convictions secured, resulting in over N45 billion of illicit proceeds seized.”