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KANO, Nigeria: Nigeria on Saturday slapped 44 Boko Haram jihadists with jail terms of up to 30 years for funding terrorist activities, a spokesman for a counterterrorism agency said.
The convicted were among 54 suspects arraigned in four specially-constituted civilian courts set up at a military base in the town of Kainji in central Niger state, Abu Michael, a spokesman for Nigeria’s counterterrorism center said in a statement.
On Wednesday, Nigeria resumed trials of the suspects seven years after it suspended prosecution of over 1,000 people suspected of ties with the jihadist group that has been waging an insurgency since 2009 to establish a caliphate.
“The verdicts delivered from the trials resulted in prison sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years, all to be served with hard labor,” Michael said.
“With the latest convictions, Nigeria has now secured a total of 785 cases involving terrorism financing and other terrorism-related offenses,” said the statement.
The trial of the remaining 10 cases was adjourned to a later date, he said.
Nigeria is listed as a “grey list country” by international monitors alongside South Sudan, South Africa, Monaco and Croatia due to deficiencies in preventing money laundering and terrorism financing.
The Nigerian military’s 16-year campaign to crush the jihadists in the northeast has killed more than 40,000 people and displaced around two million from their homes, according to the United Nations.
The violence has also spilt over into neighboring Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
In October 2017, Nigeria began mass trials of the Islamist insurgents, more than eight years after the start of the violence.
That phase of the trials, which lasted five months, saw the convictions of 200 jihadist fighters with sentencing ranging from “death penalty and life imprisonment to prison terms of 20 to 70 years,” Michael said.
The offenses for the convictions included attacks on women and children, the destruction of religious sites, the killing of civilians, and the abduction of women and children.
Human rights groups accused the military of arbitrarily arresting thousands of civilians, with many being held for years without access to lawyers or being brought to court.
 

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump has sent letters this week outlining higher tariffs countries will face if they don’t make trade deals with the US by Aug. 1.
Some mirror the so-called “reciprocal” rates Trump unveiled against dozens of trading partners in April — the bulk of which were later postponed just hours after taking effect. But many are higher or lower than those previously announced amounts.
So far, Trump has warned the European Union and 24 nations, including major trading partners like South Korea and Japan, that steeper tariffs will be imposed starting Aug. 1.
Nearly all of these letters took the same general tone with the exception of Brazil, Canada, the EU and Mexico, which included more specifics about Trump’s issues with those countries.
Nearly every country has faced a minimum 10 percent levy on goods entering the US since April, on top of other levies on specific products like steel and automobiles. And future escalation is still possible. In his letters, which were posted on Truth Social, Trump warned countries that they would face even higher tariffs if they retaliated by increasing their own import taxes.
Here’s a look at the countries that have gotten tariff letters so far — and where things stand now:
Brazil
Tariff rate: 50 percent starting Aug. 1. Brazil wasn’t threatened with an elevated “reciprocal” rate in April — but, like other countries, has faced Trump’s 10 percent baseline over the last three months.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum, iron products, coffee and fruit juice.
Response: In a forceful response, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Trump’s tariffs would trigger the country’s economic reciprocity law — which allows trade, investment and intellectual property agreements to be suspended against countries that harm Brazil’s competitiveness. He also noted that the US has had a trade surplus of more than $410 billion with Brazil over the past 15 years.
Myanmar
Tariff rate: 40 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 44 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Clothing, leather goods and seafood
Response: Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun, the spokesperson for Myanmar’s military government said it will follow up with negotiations.
Laos
Tariff rate: 40 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 48 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Shoes with textile uppers, wood furniture, electronic components and optical fiber
Cambodia
Tariff rate: 36 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 49 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Textiles, clothing, shoes and bicycles
Response: Cambodia’s chief negotiator, Sun Chanthol, said the country successfully got the tariff dropped from the 49 percent Trump announced in April to 36 percent and is ready to hold a new round of negotiations. He appealed to investors, especially factory owners, and the country’s nearly 1 million garment workers not to panic about the tariff rate announced Monday.
Thailand
Tariff rate: 36 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Computer parts, rubber products and gemstones
Response: Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Pichai Chunhavajira said Thailand will continue to push for tariff negotiations with the United States. Thailand on Sunday submitted a new proposal that includes opening the Thai market for more American agricultural and industrial products and increasing imports of energy and aircraft.
Bangladesh
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 37 percent announced in April.
Key export to the US: Clothing
Response: Bangladesh’s finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed said Bangladesh hopes to negotiate for a better outcome. There are concerns that additional tariffs would make Bangladesh’s garment exports less competitive with countries like Vietnam and India.
Canada
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 25 percent imposed earlier this year on goods that don’t comply with a North American trade agreement covering the US, Canada and Mexico. Some of Canada’s top exports to the US are subject to different industry-specific tariffs.
Key exports to the US: Oil and petroleum products, cars and trucks
Response: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney posted on X early Friday that the government will continue to work toward a trade deal by the new Aug. 1 deadline.
Serbia
Tariff rate: 35 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 37 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Software and IT services; car tires
Indonesia
Tariff rate: 32 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Palm oil, cocoa butter and semiconductors
Algeria
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum, cement and iron products
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 35 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Weapons and ammunition
The European Union
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 20 percent announced in April but less than the 50 percent Trump later threatened.
Key exports to the US: Pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, medical instruments, and wine and spirits.
Iraq
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 39 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Crude oil and petroleum products
Response: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the tariffs would disrupt essential supply chains “to the detriment of businesses, consumers and patients on both sides of the Atlantic.” She said the EU remains ready to continue working toward an agreement but will take necessary steps to safeguard EU interests, including countermeasures if required.
Libya
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 31 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Petroleum products
Mexico
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 25 percent imposed earlier this year on goods that don’t comply with the free trade agreement covering the US, Mexico and Canada. Some of Mexico’s top exports to the US are subject to other sector-specific tariffs.
Key exports to the US: Cars, motor vehicle parts and accessories, crude oil, delivery trucks, computers, agricultural products
South Africa
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Platinum, diamonds, vehicles and auto parts
Response: The office of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement that the tariff rates announced by Trump mischaracterized the trade relationship with the US, but it would “continue with its diplomatic efforts toward a more balanced and mutually beneficial trade relationship with the United States” after having proposed a trade framework on May 20.
Sri Lanka
Tariff rate: 30 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 44 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Clothing and rubber products
Brunei
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Mineral fuels and machinery equipment
Moldova
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 31 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Fruit juice, wine, clothing and plastic products
Japan
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Autos, auto parts, electronic
Response: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba called the tariff “extremely regrettable” but said he was determined to continue negotiating.
Kazakhstan
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 27 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Oil, uranium, ferroalloys and silver
Malaysia
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s up from 24 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Electronics and electrical products
Response: Malaysia’s government said it will pursue talks with the US A cabinet meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.
South Korea
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s the same rate that was announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Vehicles, machinery and electronics
Response: South Korea’s Trade Ministry said early Tuesday that it will accelerate negotiations with the United States to achieve a deal before the 25 percent tax goes into effect.
Tunisia
Tariff rate: 25 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 28 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Animal and vegetable fats, clothing, fruit and nuts
Philippines
Tariff rate: 20 percent starting Aug. 1. That’s down from 17 percent announced in April.
Key exports to the US: Electronics and machinery, clothing and gold