An application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to speed up the trial of Khalid Al-Barnawi, the alleged mastermind of the August 26, 2011, bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja, and four other people was granted by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Five years after the Abuja UN building attack, Al-Barnawi was taken into custody by the DSS in Lokoja, Kogi State, in April 2016. More than 20 people were killed and more than 70 injured in the attack, which was the first of its kind on an international organization in Nigeria.
The DSS moved the application for an accelerated hearing on Friday through its attorney, Alex Iziyon SAN, stating that the Service is ready to make sure the case is decided quickly.
Parties may view video recordings provided by the DSS in the application, which was not contested by the attorneys for the individual defendants, to demonstrate that the extrajudicial statements made by the defendants were voluntary, in contrast to what some of the defendants have claimed.
After taking notes and watching the video clips in front of the court registrar, the parties will return to the court on October 23 and 24 to continue the trial within the trial.
Al-Barnawi was arrested in Lokoja in 2016, and his trial started soon after. But the trial had been delayed by a number of administrative and legal problems.
Before becoming the leader (Amir) of the breakaway faction, Jama’at Ansarul Muslimim Fi Biladi Sudan, or JAMBS, he is thought to have been a founding member of Jama’at Ahl as-Sunnah lid Da’wah Wa’l-Jihad, the Boko Haram Islamist terror group. He is also known by the names Kafuri, Naziru, Alhaji Yahaya, Mallam Dauda, and Alhaji Tanimu.
About The Author
