Court Sends Three to Jail for Boko Haram Links

The Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced a farmer, a businessman, and a father of 11 children to prison on Monday for their connections to Boko Haram activities.

They were convicted during the ongoing mass terrorism trials being held by the Nigerian government at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

Earlier reports said the Nigerian government started the trial of over 400 terrorism suspects on Monday before judges at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The suspects are being brought to court in batches across several courtrooms in the complex. Many regular cases are on hold to allow judges to take part in the process.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, who led the prosecution team, told journalists that these mass terrorism trials show the federal government’s strong position against insecurity. He added that the government would not take terrorism lightly.

Mr Fagbemi said about 490 suspects faced trial on Monday, while 84 others were set to appear the next day. He noted that this number did not include 102 suspects from a previous phase.

He stated that the total number of suspects in this phase is over 600. “10 judges are dedicated solely to terrorism trials,” he said, and these trials are scheduled to last for four days starting from Monday.

One of the judges, Binta Nyako, sentenced Ali Mustapha, a 55-year-old farmer from Borno State, to 15 years in prison for hiding information about Boko Haram activities in his area.

Mr Mustapha, who has been in custody since 2013, admitted to the charge brought by the Attorney General of the Federation.

While sentencing him, the judge considered his claim that there were no government officials or security agents in his remote village to report the activities.

Judge Nyako still convicted him and ordered his prison term to start from 2013, the year he was arrested.

In another case, the court sentenced Isa Isiaka, a father of 11 and husband to two wives, to 20 years in prison for not revealing information that could help arrest Boko Haram members.

Mr Isiaka pleaded guilty after the charge was read to him. He asked the court for mercy, mentioning his family responsibilities and that he was a first-time offender.

The judge did not accept his plea and gave him a 20-year prison sentence without the option to pay a fine.

In a separate case, the court sentenced a businessman from Maiduguri, Umar Bashir, to 20 years in prison for financing terrorism.

Mr Bashir, who said he is a perfume oil dealer and point-of-sale operator, admitted to using his bank account to handle a N5 million transaction linked to a Boko Haram member.

The prosecution said he received the money in his account and later transferred it to another account connected to the terrorist group, earning a commission of N20,000.

After pleading guilty, Mr Bashir was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison by Judge Nyako. The judge also said the sentence should start in 2025, when he was arrested and detained.