TERRORISM;NIGERIAN GOVT BEGINS TRIAL OF BOKO HARAM SUSPECTS

The federal government says it is ready for its first major prosecutions of suspects linked to Boko Haram insurgency.

Trials of the suspects will take place at a military base.

The defendants have all been arrested and detained since the start of insurgency in the country's northeast in 2009.

The Justice ministry announced last month that some 1,670 detainees would go on trial at a civilian court at a military base in Kainji, in the central state of Niger.

A further 651 others at the Giwa barracks in the capital of the northeastern state of Borno, Maiduguri, would then be tried.

A government source involved in the process told newsmen that defence and prosecution lawyers have arrived early to prepare for the cases.

"But from all indications, the whole of Monday will be used for administrative purposes," he said on condition of anonymity.

"It's just about sorting out the record of the suspects to determine who is going to stand trial today and those who will be tried later.

"The trials will be conducted on an individual basis. Of course, where some suspects are accused of committing a particular crime, they will be tried in a group."