Aminu Sadiq Ogwuche, the alleged mastermind of the 2014 Nyanya Motor Park bombing in Abuja that claimed 75 lives, has protested the 11-year delay in his trial.

 

Ogwuche, through his lawyer Abdusalam Abas, told the Federal High Court in Abuja that the terrorism case had suffered 97 adjournments, mostly due to prosecution failures, and urged the court to strike out the seven-count charge for lack of diligent prosecution.

 

Joined in the protest by co-defendants, Ogwuche accused the Federal Government of abandoning the case and detaining him unlawfully in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) since 2014.

 

Justice Peter Lifu, visibly displeased with the prosecution’s latest excuse for adjournment, warned that the court may strike out the charges if the government fails to present its witnesses at the next hearing. He gave the prosecution a final deadline of June 18 and 19, 2025, to proceed with the trial.

 

Lifu criticized the prolonged incarceration without trial, calling it “absurd” and contrary to Nigeria’s constitutional principles of presumption of innocence and human rights. However, he refrained from dismissing the case outright due to the gravity of the terrorism charges.

 

The court also ordered the DSS to allow access to the defendants by their legal counsel and close relatives to facilitate adequate defense preparation.

 

Ogwuche and six others face charges of terrorism, conspiracy, belonging to Boko Haram, and supporting the group by financing widows of insurgents. He was extradited from Sudan in July 2014.

 

The case had previously been handled by two other judges but was stalled over lack of proper prosecution.