By Joy Odor Reportcircle News
Nigeria is quietly setting the stage for another decisive push in its long-running war against terrorism, with fresh plans to move suspects from military detention into courtrooms as long-stalled case files finally reach the finish line.
The signal came from Maiduguri from the Commander, Joint Investigation Centre (JIC), Giwa Barracks, Brigadier-General YK Audu while briefing Defence Media Correspondents during the Second Bi-Annual Media Tour held between January 20 and 22, 2026.
Commander JIC disclosed that preparations are underway to begin a new round of prosecutions in the Federal Capital, following months of coordination between the Federal Ministry of Justice, the military high command and international partners.
The move signals a shift from prolonged detention toward courtroom accountability, as authorities seek to unclog facilities and restore momentum to terrorism trials.
According to Brigadier-General Audu, the next one to two months could prove pivotal.
Judicial teams are expected to commence hearings, a development that may trigger a fresh wave of suspect transfers from detention centres to Abuja for prosecution.
“This is about concluding what has been prepared,” Audu said, pointing to the progress already made behind the scenes.
By December, Nigeria had transferred at least 57 terror suspects from detention facilities, in addition to about 69 others moved earlier at different times, to Abuja for trial.
Those offshore prosecutions, he said, were part of an interim strategy to fast-track justice when domestic capacity was overstretched.
The Federal Ministry of Justice has issued a new directive to the Office of the Chief of Army Staff, demanding a comprehensive status report on detainees whose cases have been completed.
The request also covers suspects who are critically ill or advanced in age, categories likely to shape decisions on prosecution, transfer or other legal outcomes.
Brigadier-General Audu confirmed that the list has already been compiled and forwarded to Army Headquarters, with final action expected imminently.
“With a new Director of Public Prosecutions now in place, we expect movement on pending cases very soon,” a senior official involved in the process said.
As trials loom, the military used the opportunity to push back against persistent claims that terror suspects who were prosecuted, rehabilitated or reintegrated later returned to the battlefield and ended up back in custody.
At the Giwa Investigation Centre, officials were unequivocal.
“We do not have a single suspect here who left this facility, passed through prosecution, rehabilitation or reintegration, and then returned after committing another offence,” Audu said. “Our records are comprehensive. Everyone who passes through this centre is documented.”
Suspects sent to Kainji for prosecution or enrolled in Operation Safe Corridor for rehabilitation, he explained, are tracked through a central database designed to prevent exactly such lapses.
“If anyone had left, reoffended and crossed back here, it would be immediately evident,” he added.
The clarification comes as Nigeria tries to strike a delicate balance between justice, security and deradicalization in its counterinsurgency campaign.
Offshore trials have drawn criticism in some quarters, but security officials maintain they were a necessary bridge while domestic legal capacity was rebuilt.
Now, with files closed, lists submitted and prosecutors back in the driver’s seat, that bridge may be giving way to a more conventional path.
In the coming weeks, as suspects move from guarded barracks to court docks, Nigeria’s counterterrorism strategy will enter a phase many have long demanded, one where the war is fought not only with arms, but with judgments
