Stillborn prosecution of terror sponsors

As much as it’s disappointing that more than a decade since the eruption of the Boko Haram terrorism in Nigeria the authorities still betray inexcusable naivety in terms of the politics of the war on terror, the way they are handling the planned prosecution of some alleged Boko Haram sponsors is even more disappointing. This is because while the former involves intelligence and diplomatic complexities, which require extensive engagements with foreign governments and organisations, it only takes basic competence to accomplish the latter.

Given the intricacies of the process of facilitating terror financing where the financiers and facilitators are obsessed with not leaving any trace, an investigation into it is painstakingly and discreetly conducted with intelligence mechanisms. After irrefutable evidence against the accused has been collected up, they (accused) are caught off guard and picked up quietly unless when doing so otherwise is absolutely unavoidable. Also, after extended sessions of exhaustive interrogation and further investigations, they are subjected to prosecution in a special and mostly closed court. Details of the circumstances of the arrests including the identities of the arrested are released only when it won’t in any way undermine the investigation and/or prosecution.

Now, the Nigerian authorities have revealed that arrests have been made including some prominent Nigerians accused of terror financing and according to Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, once the investigation is concluded, the details will be released, which he says, will surprise many Nigerians. Likewise, the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, confirmed the involvement of “certain higher-profile individuals and businessmen across the country” in terror financing.

However, making that disclosure at this juncture isn’t only premature but counterproductive as well. The disclosure should be made only when all the suspects have been picked up and all the investigations and interrogations have been concluded.

With that disclosure and the planned release of the details of the arrests, which may probably include the identities of the arrested, the authorities are inadvertently undermining the investigations and indeed effectively rendering the planned prosecution of the accused stillborn eventually. Because their accomplices out there who haven’t been picked up have been effectively given an opportunity on a silver platter to either escape from the country or embark on moves to discredit whatever evidence being collected up against them to make their arrests “legally” impossible and indeed prevent their conviction even when they are eventually prosecuted.

After all, with the degree of corruption pervading the government including all relevant security agencies and the judiciary in the country, all it takes for a prominent Nigerian terror sponsor to evade justice is his willingness to part with an appropriate fortune to corruptly induce corrupt security investigators and judicial personnel, who unfortunately hugely outnumber the incorruptible in all government agencies.

And depending on how deep-pocketed he is, he can even mobilise public sympathy in his favour by, say, crying witch-hunt or persecution on political or ethno-religious grounds, which many compromised or simply misled public commentators, hired human right activists and apologists on social media would keep repeating until his purported innocence becomes a “fact”.

Besides, those already in detention may equally capitalise on that premature disclosure to undermine the cases against them the same way through their lawyers and connections out there.

That way, and thanks to poor handling of the investigations, the authorities may not be able to eliminate the terrorfinancing network fueling insurgency and other subversive activities in the country.

As much as one tries to find understandable explanations to some instances of tactical incompetence that the Nigerian authorities exhibit in their handling of different issues, one cannot help but conclude that many, if not most, of those handling the issues, aren’t equal to the task, to say the least. That’s why even with more than a decade of experience in tackling terrorism, there is hardly a single conclusive prosecution of any captured terrorist or financier. Instead, many purportedly repentant Boko Haram terrorists who had been captured in action have been released on various occasions with many of them reportedly rejoining the terror group afterward.

Also, contrary to Garba Shehu’s claim, the Nigerian authorities weren’t even in the picture when their counterparts in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) tracked down, prosecuted and convicted some Dubai-based Nigerians accused of facilitating Boko Haram financing.

Interestingly, though a very few Nigerian newspapers had reported the convictions, it was my column titled “Who are Alhaji Sa’idu, Alhaji Ashiru?” (Daily Trust, Friday, August 21, 2020) several months later and the subsequent Daily Trust cover story on the matter that got it trending thereby attracting the interest of the Nigerian authorities.

The two Nigeria-based Alhajis in question were repeatedly mentioned in the UAE court’s case file as coordinators of almost all the transactions. The former was the one coordinating the handover of the cash to the Dubai-based Nigerian facilitators, then he would collect its Naira equivalent from their accomplices in Kano for onward delivery to the Boko Haram terrorists. The latter was, according to the file, a Nigerian government official who would secure some of the cash from funds stolen from the government.

Yet, though the Nigerian authorities have picked up hundreds of suspected Boko Haram financiers and their forex operators accomplices, it’s not clear if the two Alhajis and others of their status in the crime network are included; after all, the list released so far doesn’t include any prominent name.

Terror financing network is so sophisticated and it requires equally sophisticated intelligence means to track down transactions and link them to the real financiers. Likewise, investigating and prosecuting terror financing cases requires specific expertise and meticulous diligence to secure convictions against the accused.