Spanish judge to hear anti-Boko Haram terror lawsuit
A senior Spanish judge says he has accepted to hear a lawsuit against Nigeria-based Takfiri Boko Haram militants and their leader Abubakar Shekau for terrorism and crimes against humanity.
Spanish High Court Judge Fernando Andreu said Thursday he is competent to handle the case under the universal jurisdiction principle - which allows courts to hold trials for certain crimes committed in other countries -- because the case is about a Spanish nun who is a victim of the militants.
Spanish public prosecutors charged Boko Haram in the lawsuit with “harassing” and “putting pressure” on the nun in Nigeria in March 2013 as part of “a generalized context of actions of a terrorist nature” by the militant group.
“Many civilians, especially women and children, have been killed, kidnapped and forcibly recruited by Boko Haram. The culprits must answer for their acts before the courts,” prosecutors wrote in their lawsuit.
Boko Haram, whose name means “Western education is forbidden,” has killed over 15,000 people and displaced about 1.5 million others in Nigeria since the beginning of its militancy in 2009.
The Takfiri militants control parts of northeastern Nigeria and seek to topple the Nigerian government.
Boko Haram is considered the biggest security threat in Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and biggest economy. It has also conducted cross-border attacks in Chad, Cameroon and Niger.
MSM/MKA/HMV
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