The Katsina State Government has officially defended its decision to facilitate the release of 70 suspects currently facing trial for banditry, stating that the move was necessary to preserve the ongoing peace agreements.
The state’s Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Nasir Muazu, stated that the action is a strategic trade-off that already secured the freedom of approximately 1,000 kidnapped civilians.
The document, issued by the Ministry of Justice to the state’s Chief Judge, requests the intervention of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Monitoring Committee (ACJMC) to discharge the suspects from various courts.
Commissioner Nasir Muazu justified the release by comparing it to international protocols where warring parties exchange captives to end hostilities. He emphasized that the peace accords, currently active in 18 local government areas, are community-led initiatives that the state is consolidating.
Critics, including the Network for Justice, argue that the move ignores the families of murder victims and that many of the suspects were already convicted and should serve their sentences.
Leave a comment