Counterterrorism: Nigeria, Italy Co-chair Working Group Meeting

Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

Nigeria and Italy co-chaired the seventh plenary meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum’s (GCTF) Criminal Justice and Rule of Law (CJ-ROL) Working Group in St Julian’s, Malta on Thursday. 

Organisers say the meeting, which was the first under the new working group co-chairs, focused on the presentation of priority areas highlighted in the group’s work plan for the period of 2022-2024. 

They also said the meeting would guide the activities of the group as it offered an opportunity for members to discuss collaboration and synergies with other GCTF working groups and initiatives. 

A statement issued by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said the CJ-ROL working group of the GCTF focuses on the critical role played by the criminal justice sector in combating terrorism and demonstrates the GCTF’s commitment to supporting rule-of-law-based and human rights-compliant approaches.

The GCTF said Thursday’s plenary strengthened Nigeria’s and Italy’s commitment to supporting the forum’s good practices and recommendation documents promulgated by the working group and explored practical outputs.

“The GCTF Criminal Justice and Rule of Law Working Group, co-chaired by Italy and Nigeria, is dedicated to supporting the development of effective criminal justice systems within a rule of law framework and fully respecting human rights. It aims to ensure that persons who plan, perpetrate or support terrorist acts are brought to justice,” the forum said.

The Coordinator, National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), Rear Admiral Yem Musa (rtd), who represented Nigeria at the event, said the administration of criminal justice terrorism-related cases could neither be efficient nor effective if the rights of those concerned are not protected. 

Musa cited the example of witness protection, saying the effect of lack of protection for witnesses has resulted in the striking out of cases by the courts involving heinous crimes because witnesses often refuse to testify due to the absence of a system designed to cater to their protection. 

According to the coordinator, Nigeria signed the Witness Protection and Management Act on 23rd May 2022 into law to specifically address that challenge. 

Nigeria first co-chaired the CJ-ROL Working Group with Switzerland in 2018 and developed the Abuja Recommendations on Collection, Use and Sharing of Evidence for Purposes of Criminal Prosecution of Terror Suspects, which was endorsed at the 2018 GCTF Ministerial Meeting on the sidelines of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly. 

It also co-organised the First Expert Meeting of the Working Group for the development of a set of recommendations on Rule of Law-Based Administrative Measures in the Counterterrorism Context held at The Hague, The Netherlands.

The NCTC coordinator said since its inception, the CJ-ROL Working Group has accomplished a lot through the development of Recommendations and Good Practice Memoranda, such as the Rabat Memorandum on Good Practices for Effective Counterterrorism Practice in the Criminal Justice Sector. 

Also, the working group’s Hague Memorandum on Good Practices for the Judiciary in Adjudicating Terrorism Offense has been compiled to assist judges to more effectively adjudicate cases that involve terrorism while respecting the rights of all parties involved in the cases, in particular the rights to a fair trial for the accused, and the protection of victims and witnesses.

“We intend to build on the accomplishments of this important working group and further the knowledge and good practice to support the effective dispensation of effective criminal justice, rule of law and human right-based responses to terrorism,” Musa said.