No fewer than four Pakistanis have been arrested by the military over alleged links to terrorism, the Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), Maj-Gen Abdulsalam Abubakar, has said.

Relatedly, the Joint Investigation Centre (JIC) of OPHK in the North East expressed frustration over the delay in the trial of 1,450 terrorism suspects, despite the completion of investigations into their cases.

It disclosed that the suspects were among the 1,877 investigated for alleged involvement in terror-related activities.

Preliminary investigations, according to Abubakar, suggested the foreigners were involved in arms trafficking and training of terrorist groups operating in the North East. He disclosed this while briefing defence correspondents who visited the theatre of operations, yesterday.

He asserted that the support from foreign warriors made terrorist groups in the country more lethal and tactically advanced.

“The infiltration of mercenaries in the joint operations area has significantly escalated the threat posed by terrorist groups like Islamic State’s West Africa Province (ISWAP) and Jama’atuAhlis Sunna Lidda’awatiwal-Jihad (JAS).

“The recent arrest of four Pakistani nationals, whose initial investigation suggests that they deal in arms running with terrorists, is instructive,” the Commander added.

ADDRESSING journalists on Tuesday, Olugbenga Adeniyi, who represented the Acting Commander of JIC, said following thorough investigations, the suspects were categorised based on their levels of involvement and the outcome of legal reviews conducted by the Complex Casework Group.

“After the investigation, the Complex Casework Group carries out a review of the investigation reports and offers the necessary legal advice. Based on this, the detainees are categorised into three groups: Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration,” he explained.

He said while active terrorists earmarked for prosecution had been transferred to the Giwa Centre in Kainji, others were sent to the Operation Safe Corridor for rehabilitation or handed over to the Borno State Government for reintegration.

However, he decried the systemic delay in the judicial process, which resulted in hundreds of suspects languishing in custody long after the conclusion of investigations.

The commander cited several challenges impeding the prosecution process, including difficulty in securing witnesses, restricted access to crime scenes, and the reluctance of some witnesses to testify.

JIC called for urgent reforms and enhanced inter-agency collaboration to address the issues and ensure timely justice for both suspects and victims of terrorism in the region.