President Bola Tinubu’s justice minister, Lateef Fagbemi, says insecurity is not as “heinous” as people are portraying it. The attorney general of the federation said this during a press conference after a closed-door meeting with a U.S. delegation.
“This meeting is an opportunity for the federal government to present its perspective on terrorism and insecurity bedevilling Nigeria and to allow the visiting US lawmaker to assess the situation firsthand,” said Mr Fagbemi. “We have explained this to them when we entered Washington, and I am happy that they are also here to see things for themselves. “We have security challenges, and the government is doing its utmost best to ensure that these challenges are addressed.”
He said that his ministry, being responsible for prosecuting suspects arrested in connection with terrorism and extremism-related offences, follows due process in handling such cases.
“The one that concerns the Federal Ministry of Justice is about the prosecution of the people arrested in connection with extremism, and we are able to explain to them how far we have come and what we are also doing.
“As we speak, terrorism trials are still ongoing. Between 2017 and 2025, the government had secured 860 convictions and 891 discharges. These figures reflect the government’s commitment to the rule of law. We don’t just arrest people and clamp them into prison. We follow due process.
“They are profiled, those who have nothing to do with it are let off the hook, while those we believe we have cases against, we take them to court, and it is for the court to decide,” the AGF stated.
He reiterated that the federal government abides by court decisions, whether convictions or acquittals.
“So whenever the court takes a decision, we comply with or abide by the decision, and that is why we have both convictions and acquittals,” he added. “We are not the only agency that they are visiting. They have visited a number of agencies as well. I want to tell you that things are not as heinous as people are portraying. I can assure you of that. We have problems in Nigeria. It is not a problem of religion.”
President Donald Trump had in October declared Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern’ in response to allegations of Christian genocide in the country.
Mr Trump stated, “Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter. I am hereby making Nigeria a ‘country of particular concern.’’
(NAN)
