At least 5,000 suspected terrorists in Nigeria are presently being held in pre-trial detention facilities across the country.

This was revealed in the 2025–2030 Strategic Plan of the National Counter-Terrorism Centre.

The NCTC disclosed that its legal team, working with the Defence Headquarters and the Federal Ministry of Justice, has been reviewing the files to fast-track prosecutions or dismiss cases lacking sufficient evidence.

“At present, there are approximately 5,000 individuals suspected of having been involved in terrorism-related offences who are being held in pre-trial detention. This has resulted in a significant backlog of cases, and the NCTC legal team has been working with the Defence Staff and the Federal Ministry of Justice to support the review of these case files and, where appropriate, to help to either expedite these prosecutions or to dismiss outstanding charges that have not been sufficiently substantiated to proceed to trial.

‘’NCTC has also been coordinating case hearings held by the Federal High Court sitting both in Wawa Military Cantonment in Kanji, Niger State, and in Abuja,” the document partly read.