The long-delayed trial of Khalid al-Barnawi, a suspected mastermind of the 2011 bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja, resumed on Friday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The attack, which occurred on 26 August in 2011, left at least 20 people dead and more than 70 others injured.
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Mr Al-Barnawi is standing trial alongside four co-defendants accused of being involved in the bombing.
The co-defendants are Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Mohammed Bello (also known as Datti), Mohammed Salisu and Yakubu Nuhu (also known as Bello Maishayi).
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Mr Al-Barnawi, the prime suspect, was also accused of being a member of Ansaru, a Boko Haram breakaway faction said to be ideologically aligned with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
At Friday’s hearing, prosecution lawyer Alex Iziyon, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), expressed commitment to the expeditious determination of the case. while applying to the court to grant accelerated hearing.
The application also included the prosecution’s request to present video evidence during trial to show that the extrajudicial statements of the suspects were voluntarily obtained from the defendants, contrary to their claims of coercion.
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Trial judge Emeka Nwite granted the prosecution’s application in a ruling on Friday.
In August 2011, terrorists bombed the United Nations House in the Central District of Garki, Abuja. The attack killed and injured many people.
Boko Haram claimed responsibility in a phone call with BBC, the Guardian UK reported. Its spokesperson, Abu Qaqa, said the UN was targeted because it represented Western influence in Nigeria.
In April 2016, Mr Al-Barnawi was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS) operatives in Lokoja, Kogi State.
The Nigerian government charged him and his co-defendants who were also arrested by the security agency, accusing them of carrying out terrorist attacks between 2011 and 2013 in Sokoto, Kebbi, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe and other northern states.
However, the trial has suffered incessant and prolonged adjournments, partly due to absence of the defendants or their lawyers from court on many occasions.
‘Global terrorist’
Mr Al-Barnawi was reported to be a former top commander of Boko Haram under the group’s pioneer leader, Abubakar Shekau. He later broke away to form Ansaru (Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan), a faction that pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
Mr Al-Barnawi, who hails from Borno State in North-eastern Nigeria, is regarded by security agencies as one of the most internationally connected jihadist figures to have operated in the country.
In 2012, the United States government designated him as a “specially designated global terrorist” and placed a $5 million bounty on his head.
Ansaru, also known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, is ideologically aligned with al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and is accused of killing several Westerners in northern Nigeria.
Earlier on Thursday, the Nigerian government arraigned two top commanders of the Ansaru before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The duo are Mahmud Muhammed Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar) and his deputy, Abubakar Abba (also called Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri).
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Messrs Usman and Abba were identified by security authorities as the current top leaders of the group. A PREMIUM TIMES report indicated that Mr Usman was one of the founding members of Ansaru. He later rose to the group’s leadership after the arrest of Mr Al-Barnawi in 2016.
Both men were arrested after a months-long intelligence-driven operation between May and July, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, announced in August.
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