A Federal High Court in Kainji, Niger State, have sentenced 45 members of Boko Haram to between three and 31 years in jail for terrorism.

The court, on Friday, handed down the verdicts at the conclusion of the first phase of the trial during which 575 Boko Haram suspects were arraigned. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said 468 other suspects who had no case to answer were discharged and acquitted by the court.

34 cases were struck out while 28 suspects were remanded for trial in Abuja and Minna.

The court ordered that the 468 discharged persons should undergo deradicalization and rehabilitation programmes before they are handed over to their respective state governments.

The trial started with the formal remand of 1,669 suspects for a period of 90 days, with the court ordering that they be arraigned within the specified period or released unconditionally.

The court adjourned the trial of other suspects to January 2018.