TheCable

The federal high court in Kainji, Niger state, has convicted 45 Boko Haram members to between three to 31 years in prison.

The insurgents were convicted following the conclusion of the first phase of the trial during which 575 Boko Haram suspects were arraigned.

In a statement on Friday, Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, said the court also discharged 468 suspects who had no case to answer.

“Thirty-four cases were struck out while 28 suspects were remanded for trial in Abuja and Minna,” the statement read.

“The court ordered that the 468 discharged persons should undergo rehabilitation programme before they are handed over to their respective state governments.

“The trial commenced with the formal remand by the court of over 1,600 suspects for a period of 90 days, with the court ordering that they be arraigned within the specified period or released unconditionally.”

The court adjourned the trial of other suspects till January 2018.

Last month, four judges were appointed by the chief judge of the federal high court to sit and dispose of the cases of insurgency.