The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for their involvement in the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Justice Salim Ibrahim ordered that the life sentences imposed on 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, should take effect from the date of their arrest.
Before the sentencing, counsel to the defendants pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, describing the convicts as first-time offenders who had pleaded guilty and shown remorse for their actions. He argued that the charges to which they admitted did not directly relate to the actual kidnapping.
The defence counsel further told the court that the convicts were married with children and had elderly parents who depended on them, urging the court to give them a second chance by imposing lighter sentences.
However, the prosecution opposed the plea for leniency, arguing that the defendants were aware of the activities of terrorist elements and, as law-abiding citizens, ought to have reported the information to the relevant security authorities.
The three defendants pleaded guilty to membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation and to concealing information relating to the planning and execution of the Oriire school abduction.
In addition, the first defendant, Abdulrazak Umar, pleaded guilty to four separate counts relating to providing training, passing instructions, and inciting members of a terrorist group through the propagation of extremist religious ideology.
The Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned the three defendants on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, and concealment of information.
According to the charge, the defendants, all from Niger State, knowingly withheld information about individuals involved in terrorist activities, participated in kidnapping, and used a messaging platform to facilitate terrorist training and related operations.
