20‑Year Prison Sentence for Negotiating with Terrorists, Falana Warns Federal and State Governments

Human rights advocate Femi Falana has cautioned federal and state governments against negotiating with and rewarding terrorists.

Falana said the practice is illegal.

He made the remarks while delivering the keynote address at the Amnesty International Second Annual General Meeting in Abuja on June 13, 2026.

Falana alleged that it is well known that officials of the Federal Government and some State Governments have been holding meetings and negotiating with terrorists and bandits, resulting in thousands of so‑called “repentant” criminals being pardoned and receiving cash gifts of undisclosed amounts.

He asserted that the “satanic Boko Haram sect and similar bodies have been proscribed” under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, and insisted that “their members and allies shall be prosecuted and not pampered and forgiven by the Nigerian State.”

Highlighting the legal consequences, he quoted Section 22 of the Act: “A person who knowingly—(a) arranges, manages, assists in arranging or managing, participates in a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group; (b) collects, or provides logistics, equipment, information, articles or facilities for a meeting or an activity, which in his knowledge is concerned or connected with an act of terrorism or terrorist group; or (c) attends a meeting, which in his knowledge is to support a proscribed entity or to further the objectives of a proscribed entity, commits an offence, and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of at least 20 years.”