Mass Trial: Court jails three for links to Boko Haram

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

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

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the Nigerian government commenced on Monday the trial of more than 400 terrorism suspects before judges of the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The suspects are being arraigned in batches simultaneously in several courtrooms at the Federal High Court complex, with many regular cases put on hold to allow judges to participate in the exercise.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, who led the prosecution team, later told journalists that the ongoing mass terrorism trials reflect the federal government’s firm stance against insecurity and its decision not to treat terrorism lightly.

Mr Fagbemi said about 490 suspects were being tried on Monday, while 84 others were scheduled for arraignment the following day. He added that the figure did not include 102 suspects carried over from a previous phase.

He put the total number of suspects in the current phase at more than 600.

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According to the AGF, “10 judges are dedicated solely to terrorism trials” scheduled to run for four days from Monday.

One of the 10 judges, Binta Nyako, sentenced Ali Mustapha, a 55-year-old farmer from Borno State, to 15 years’ imprisonment for concealing information about Boko Haram activities in his community.

Mr Mustapha, who had been in custody since 2013, pleaded guilty to the charge filed by the Attorney General of the Federation.

In sentencing him, the judge took note of his claim that there were no government officials or security agencies in his remote village to whom he could report the activities.

Judge Nyako, however, convicted him and ordered that the prison term should take effect from 2013, the year of his arrest.

The court also sentenced Isa Isiaka, a father of 11 children and husband of two wives, to 20 years imprisonment for failing to disclose information that could have aided the arrest of Boko Haram members.

Mr Isiaka pleaded guilty after the charge was read to him.

He urged the court to temper justice with mercy, citing his family responsibilities and status as a first-time offender.

The judge rejected the plea and imposed a 20-year prison sentence without the option of fine.

In a separate case, the court sentenced a Maiduguri businessman, Umar Bashir, to 20 years’ imprisonment for terrorism financing.

Mr Bashir, who described himself as a perfume oil dealer and point-of-sale operator, admitted using his bank account to facilitate a N5 million transaction involving a Boko Haram member.

According to court prosecution, he received the money into his account and later transferred it to another account linked to the terrorist group, earning a commission of N20,000.

After pleading guilty, Mr Bashir was convicted and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by Judge Nyako.

The judge directed that the sentence should take effect from 2025, when he was arrested and detained.