The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for their roles in the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences.
Justice Salim Ibrahim delivered the judgment on Thursday, convicting Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar. The court ordered that their life sentences take effect from the date of their arrest.
The three convicts, all natives of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) following intelligence-led investigations into the kidnapping. They were prosecuted by the Federal Government on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping-related offences, concealment of information and support for a proscribed terrorist organisation under the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the defendants pleaded guilty to Counts Four and Six after the charges were read to them in open court.
Count Four alleged that between January and May in Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, the three men knowingly concealed information concerning Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab, identified as terrorists and alleged masterminds of the kidnapping of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
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According to the prosecution, the defendants were fully aware of the identities, activities and whereabouts of the alleged terrorists but deliberately failed to report the information to security agencies, contrary to Nigeria’s anti-terrorism laws.
They also admitted guilt to Count Six, another terrorism-related offence filed against them by the Federal Government.
In addition to the joint charges, the first defendant, Abdulrazak Umar, pleaded guilty to four additional counts—Counts Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten—relating to his alleged personal involvement in terrorism-related activities, including receiving terrorist training, transmitting operational instructions and inciting members of a terrorist group through religious ideology.
The DSS further accused the defendants of using digital messaging platforms to facilitate terrorist training and communications while withholding intelligence on key terrorist suspects.
Court documents also alleged that the trio knowingly concealed information about individuals linked to terrorist activities, maintained contact with members of a proscribed terrorist organisation and participated in offences connected to the kidnapping.
Before sentencing, defence counsel urged the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that the defendants were first-time offenders who had voluntarily admitted their guilt.
The lawyer submitted that the convicts had demonstrated genuine remorse by pleading guilty and stressed that the offences for which they were convicted did not directly involve carrying out the actual abduction.
He also appealed for leniency on humanitarian grounds, describing the convicts as married men with children and ageing parents who depended on them for support.
“The defendants deserve a second chance,” the defence counsel argued.
The prosecution opposed the plea for leniency, maintaining that the defendants knowingly associated with terrorists and deliberately concealed vital intelligence that could have enabled security agencies to prevent or disrupt terrorist operations.
It argued that the convicts had a legal obligation to report information about the activities of terrorist suspects but failed to do so despite being fully aware of their involvement.
In his judgment, Justice Ibrahim held that the prosecution had successfully established its case through the defendants’ voluntary guilty pleas and the evidence presented before the court.
The judge consequently convicted the three men on the terrorism-related charges and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment, with the sentence taking effect from the date of their arrest.
