Alex Enumah and Linus Aleke in Abuja 

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, has disclosed that the federal government successfully prosecuted and convicted 226 terrorism suspects in December last year. 

This was as the Nigerian military said that troops of Operation Safe Haven have arrested three suspected notorious gun runners identified as Adamu Musa, 65, Lukman Isah, 35, and Umar Jammo, 25. 

Also, it vowed to do everything within its power in collaboration with other government institutions to frustrate attempts by terrorist groups in the country to acquire combat drones. 

Fagbemi, who spoke on Thursday at a special engagement session organised to update Nigerians and stakeholders on measures and achievements of the Federal Ministry of Justice and its agencies in the area of advancing the administration of criminal justice from October 2024 to date, noted that the feat was as a result of deliberate efforts at improving criminal justice system in Nigeria.

The AGF stated that the Federal Ministry of Justice recorded considerable improvement in the prosecution of crimes under its purview. 

“The review period also witnessed effective conduct of 237 terrorism cases from December 9-13, 2024, out of which 226 terrorism suspects were successfully prosecuted and convicted.

“These achievements came about as a result of extant policies and actions targeted at improving the capacity of our prosecutors, increasing synergy amongst prosecuting agencies, developing appropriate policy framework in collaboration with office of the NSA and other law enforcement or security agencies,” Fagbemi said.

Other areas of success the minister listed included the establishment of a Joint Case Team (JCT) on cyber-crime, aimed at curtailing the menace of cybercrime.

Besides, he noted that the federal government is currently reviewing the Cyber Crime Legal Framework to strengthen the national framework, aligning with emerging trends and global best practices.

The minister stated that the ministry also recorded progress in enhancing protection for victims of sexual and gender-based violence through awareness campaigns and providing access to justice for victims.

“Within the reporting period, the ministry recorded six convictions for SGBV offences, including the conviction of Peter Nwachukwu the husband of Osinachi Nwachukwu, the late gospel singer. 

“The ministry has continued to take measures to ensure that Nigeria develops a child-sensitive justice system that responds to the needs of children in contact with the law, whether as victims, witnesses, or offenders. In this regard, we have continued to pursue the enactment of laws that criminalise child recruitment, while ensuring the implementation safeguards for child-offenders,” Fagbemi added. 

In the area of anti-corruption and asset recovery, Fagbemi disclosed that Nigeria executed an Asset Sharing Agreement with the United States of America on January 10, 2025 which led to the repatriation of the Galactica Assets in the sum of $52,882,018.95 from the USA. 

He stated that out of the recovered sum, US$50 million would be deployed to funding the Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-Up (DARES) Project which is an initiative of the federal government to provide electricity access to 17.5 million Nigerians, while the remaining sum of US$2.88 million will be deployed to counter-terrorism capacity building for Criminal Justice Sector practitioners.

“There are also ongoing discussions and actions on pending recoveries in foreign jurisdictions like the U.S.A, Bailiwick of Jersey and France. It is hoped that we can conclude these negotiations soon in order to ensure that more of our funds hidden in various jurisdictions are repatriated to Nigeria,” he added.

In the area of legal aid, Fagbemi disclosed that the government is promoting access to justice through the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, which has the mandate of rendering free legal services in criminal and civil matters to poor Nigerians. 

According to him, the Council handled 2,790 criminal cases, 1,021 Civil matters out of which 482 were handled using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms. 

“The Council also undertook 760 visits to correctional facilities across the federation to review the cases of inmates, while 637 suspects were assisted during police interviews and grant of bail under the Agency’s Police Duty Solicitor Scheme (PDSS).

“Furthermore, the Council embarked on media engagement and Community Sensitisation Campaigns on citizens’ rights and access to criminal justice system in collaboration with traditional rulers, religious leaders and community-based organisations nationwide, with a total of 370 sensitisation campaigns carried out in the reporting period,” he noted.

Meanwhile, a statement by the Media Information Officer of Operation Safe Haven, Major Samson Zhakom, stated that troops also recovered one AK-47 rifle, one fabricated gun, one AK-47 magazine, one round of 7.62mm special ammunition, and three motorcycles. 

According to him, “On 8 May 2025, troops of Operation Safe Haven (OPSH) conducted an intelligence-based raid operation at the hideout of notorious gun runners in Golgkofa Village under Godogodo Chiefdom in Jema’a Local Government Area of Kaduna State. During the operation, troops arrested three notorious gun runners identified as Mr. Adamu Musa, aged 65, Mr. Lukman Isah, aged 35, and Mr. Umar Jammo, aged 25. Troops also recovered one AK-47 rifle, one fabricated gun, one AK-47 magazine, one round of 7.62mm special ammunition, and three motorcycles.”

Major Zhakom revealed that the arrested suspects are in custody and making useful confessions to aid the troops in conducting follow-up operations to arrest other members of the criminal syndicate and recover their arms and ammunition. 

OPSH, he said, will continue to leverage public support and actionable information provided to track down criminals in pursuit of a safe environment.

The military authorities during the bi-weekly briefing at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, assured that terrorist groups are yet to acquire air power capabilities, explaining that none of its formations across all theatres had experienced drone attacks from Boko Haram or other terrorist groups. 

Responding to questions on the efforts of the military to tame the appetite of terrorists to acquire air capabilities, Director of Defence Media Operations, Major General Markus Kangye, reaffirmed the stance of the military that terrorists have not acquired air power capabilities.

According to him, “It is not true that terrorists have acquired combat drones. I don’t think there has been any occurrence where our troops were attacked by combat drones by terrorists; we have not seen that. But if they are in the process of acquiring them, I want to inform you that there are relevant government agencies that work in tandem with security experts to ensure that that does not happen. The use of combat drones is not allowed anyhow; even the sell of them is restricted. You cannot just go to the shelf and buy a combat drone; you can only buy those toys that children play with. In our time, we used paper and rope to make kites, but as modernity approaches, you see children flying kites using remote control.”

Giving further insight into drones and their use by the military, General Kangye said, “When we say drones, there are different types of drones. We used to call some of them RPVs, remotely piloted vehicles. We used to call some UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles, and there are different types for different purposes. For instance, if you go to major superstores, you can buy a toy that is remotely controlled and designed to resemble an aircraft or combat-like drones. You can fly it, and many people buy it for their children to play with and learn how to operate remotely piloted vehicles. 

“Then, there are combat drones that go on combat missions; they can conduct reconnaissance and attack missions. Those that go for attack are armed with payload ammunition, while those that conduct reconnaissance are often equipped with cameras to survey a particular area, gather information, and then return. Some even have the capability to transmit data about a particular geographical area and the activities happening there to the control room in the operational centre.”

Earlier, the federal government had insisted that terrorist groups terrorising the country had not acquired sophisticated air power capabilities, as some had insinuated.

Speaking at the seventh edition of the 2025 Ministerial Press Briefing Series at the National Press Centre, Radio House, Abuja, the Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar, clarified that what the terrorists are using are improvised civilian drones without lethal capabilities.

According to him, “What we have seen are normal, small civilian drones. They simply attach drone bombs to them to improvise and drop them on their targets. It’s not a sophisticated drone, and it’s not an armed drone with strategic guidance; it’s an improvised system. That is what we have seen so far, and we are building up our intelligence. That’s why we have arrested so many arms traffickers, and that’s why we are monitoring the use of civilian drones in collaboration with the Office of the National Security Adviser. 

“The drones they use for attacks are just small drones that even the media use, but with the capacity to carry 1 or 2 kg of explosives that they can detonate. That is what they have for now. But we are doubling our intelligence efforts both internally and internationally with our partners to ensure that we track the source and nip it in the bud.”