The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Jimi Benson, has explained why individuals financing terrorism in Nigeria cannot be subjected to public trials.
Benson, who spoke during an interview on ‘Prime Time’, an Arise Television programme monitored on Tuesday, said many of the identified financiers had been closely monitored for a long time.
He noted that the government was engaged in continuous efforts to address the country’s security challenges and was handling sensitive intelligence discreetly.
According to him, “The financiers of terrorists in Nigeria cannot be tried in public, a lot of them are under scrutiny for a very long time now.”
He added that the identities of those involved could not be publicly disclosed due to security implications, stressing that some sponsors were within the country while others were outside Nigeria.
Benson said, “A lot of them can’t think of financing anybody anymore. I can assure you that work is in progress. A responsible government will deal with these people at the appropriate time.”
He also explained that local and international collaborations were ongoing to ensure the financiers faced justice, saying, “The government is working; the tracking and the trying of these people. And there’s a lot of international help as well to bring these people to book.”