The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, says the government cannot name and shame suspected financiers of terrorism before they are tried and convicted.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by his media aide Dr. Umar Gwandu, the AGF said the suspects will eventually be made public, adding that “shaming remains a consequence of judicial conviction”.
According to the statement, the AGF, who spoke during an interview with journalists in New York, in continuation of the ongoing 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly, stressed that time was not ripe for holistic disclosures, so as not to pre-empt the investigation process.
He said FG would take all steps to ensure a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria, adding that the public “would be properly and adequately informed about the investigation and prosecution process at the appropriate milestones as they unfold”.
He said the FG, through the Complex Case Group of the Department of Public Prosecution of the Federation in the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, reviewed over 1000 Boko Haram Case files, out of which 285 have been filed before the Federal High Court based on prima facie cases of terrorism against them.
“The delay witnessed in prosecution process was occasioned by COVID-19 lockdown, Judiciary Staff Union (JUSUN) Strike and court vacation.
“Naming and shaming of suspects is not embarked upon as a policy by the federal Government out of sheer respect the constitutional rights of Nigerians relating to presumption of innocence.
“It is a product of constitutionalism and the law. It is rooted in the law and the names of the suspects will accordingly be made public at the point of judicial arraignment while the shaming remains a consequence of judicial conviction. Trials are judicial process and not about media sensations.
“Naming and shaming in the Nigerian context must be rooted in constitutionalism.
“We must strike a balance between constitutional presumption of innocence and evidential proof of reasonable ground for suspicion in making disclosures associated with terrorism funding and financing.
“Where reasonable grounds are established, suspects must be naturally taken to court at which point their identity must be disclosed and the naming become apparent. ’’
“Shaming, on the other hand, is the product of conviction at which point the public are equally judicially put on noticed.
“In essence naming and shaming within the context of Nigerian law are judicial functions which commence with arraignment and terminate with convictions.
“Naming and shaming is not unguided and unregulated process. It is not like a discarded ship left at the mercy of winds and tides”, the statement further read.
