US commends Nigerian govt for convicting 386 terrorism suspects

The US government has commended the Nigerian government for the conviction of 386 terrorism suspects in a mass trial.

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President Donald Trump’s Senior Advisor for Arab and African Affairs, Massad Boulos, disclosed in a post on X that the Trump administration is pleased with the fast-tracking of the trials of the individuals in a case that lasted four days.

The prosecutions, which began on Tuesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja and were concluded by Friday, are part of a series of trials involving Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) suspects that started in 2017 with more than 2,000 defendants.

Mr Boulos described the mass trial of the suspects as an important step toward accountability and justice.

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“We welcome the convictions of 386 Islamist militants in cases that had previously faced significant delays in the courts.

“We believe that timely and transparent legal processes are critical in confronting extremism and reinforcing public trust in judicial institutions.

“Upholding the rule of law remains essential to ensuring the safety, stability, and long-term security of all Nigerians, and we support continued efforts to strengthen judicial efficiency and fairness across the country,” he said.

The commendation comes a few days after the US heightened its antagonism against Nigeria by issuing a travel advisory warning Americans to reconsider trips to Nigeria and asking its non-essential staff to evacuate the country.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the advisory on Thursday. The US cited rising insecurity in parts of Nigeria as the reason for the its decision.

However, US officials have in the past seven months made repeated false claims about Nigeria that reflect the Donald Trump administration’s hostile disposition to the current Nigerian leadership.

The US had wrongly tagged the country’s security crisis a Christian genocide and used that as a basis for its hostile attitude to the government.

Many Nigerians have raised concerns that the Trumpadministration seeks to coerce the Nigerian government into accepting a US military base in Nigeria.

PREMIUM TIMES also reported on Friday that the Nigerian Sanction Committee (NIGSAC) issued an updated list of terrorism financiers, which included 48 individuals and armed groups operating across Nigeria.

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Some of the names added had been identified as terrorism financiers between 2020 and 2025.

The new list included 42 individuals and six [armed] groups, including Tukur Mamu, the publisher of Desert Herald, who took the lead in negotiating the release of hostages kidnapped during the 2022 Abuja–Kaduna train attack.

Mr Mamu is already being prosecuted for terrorism financing but has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Boko Haram (also known as Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad), its breakaway faction, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), and the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) were also listed as terrorism financiers.