The Federal Government has secured 791 additional convictions in terrorism-related cases, bringing the total number of convictions recorded through its mass trial programme to 2,512 over the past nine years.
The National Coordinator of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Maj. Gen. Adamu Laka, disclosed this during a press briefing in Abuja following the conclusion of the 11th phase of the trials.
Laka said the latest exercise, conducted between October 15 and 17 and October 22 and 24, 2026, covered 1,069 cases across 10 courts of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The final outcome included 791 convictions, seven acquittals, 41 discharges, four cases struck out and three withdrawn. Another 211 cases were adjourned, 11 remained pending, while one fell under a different category.
The latest figures represent an increase from the 653 convictions initially announced by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, during an interim review of the proceedings on October 23.
At the time, Fagbemi said the court had handled about 880 cases out of 1,060 defendants brought before it, resulting in 653 convictions, seven acquittals and 27 discharges.
He described the exercise as the largest since the government introduced special mass trials for terrorism-related offences while the final figures announced by Laka followed the completion of the proceedings.
June Proceedings Involved Over 400 Suspects
The October proceedings followed another round of mass trials in June, when the Federal Government brought more than 400 suspected terrorists before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The prosecution was led by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, with the Director of Public Prosecutions, Rotimi Oyedepo, and other government lawyers handling the cases.
The defendants faced charges bordering on terrorism, supporting insurgent activities and financing terrorist organisations.
The June exercise formed part of the government’s efforts to accelerate the prosecution of terrorism-related cases and address the backlog of suspects awaiting trial.
Earlier in April, the Federal Government secured 386 convictions out of 508 defendants during another round of proceedings. Eight defendants were discharged, while two were acquitted.
Total Convictions Reach 2,512
According to Laka, the first 10 phases of the mass trial programme produced 1,721 convictions before the latest exercise added another 791.
The programme began in October 2017, with its first phase conducted at the Wawa Military Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State.
Subsequent proceedings have involved the Federal High Court in Abuja, where special panels of judges handle cases involving suspected terrorists and related offences.
Court Sentences Boko Haram Member to Death
Among the notable outcomes of the latest phase was the conviction and death sentence imposed on Suleiman Abu, a Boko Haram member found guilty of belonging to the group and participating in attacks against military facilities and civilians.
Laka further disclosed that the latest exercise covered 201 terrorism financing cases as authorities intensified efforts to investigate individuals and networks suspected of providing financial support to terrorist organisations.
He said disrupting these funding channels remained essential to preventing terrorist groups from acquiring weapons, recruiting members and sustaining their operations.
The NCTC coordinator stressed that the prosecution process must uphold the rights of defendants and ensure that courts establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt before issuing convictions.
He maintained that acquittals, discharges and other judicial decisions were equally important to ensuring fairness in the administration of justice.
By Musekir Faisat OmolaraÂ
