By Ikechukwu Nnochiri ABUJA—Four kingpins of Boko Haram sect, Shuaibu Abubakar, Salisu Ahmed, Umar Babagana-Umar and Mohammed Ali, were, yesterday, sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja. Trial judge, Justice Bilkisu Aliyu in his judgment, held that he was convinced that it was the four accused persons that masterminded the explosion that rocked the office of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in Suleja, Niger State, prior to the April 16, 2011, presidential election. Though six persons were charged to court over the attack, the court, yesterday, freed one of the accused persons, Musa Adam, following the absence of any nexus linking him to the crime. The court convicted the sixth person, Umar Ibrahim, and sentenced him to 10 years after it was established that he had prior knowledge of the planned attack, but failed to disclose the information to security agents. The convicted Boko Haram members, who were arraigned on September 30, 2011, on a five-count charge, were said to have “between June 4 and July 12, at various locations in Suleja, Niger State; Azare, Nasarawa State and Abuja, did engage in an act of terrorism by encouraging through training persons now at large, the use of arms and ammunition, and the preparation, planting and detonation of improvised explosive devices for the purpose of terrorism. “Thereby committed an offence contrary to section 15 (2) of EFCC Act 2004 and punishable under the same section of the Act.” While sentencing them, yesterday, Justice Aliyu said there was evidence that it was the four accused persons that bombed a village, Dakna, in Bwari, Abuja, on May 23, 2011, aleading to the of three peace officers. The convicts were also found guilty of detonating an improvised explosive device at a political rally in Suleja, killing three persons in the process. The court exonerated the convicts in the bombing of All Christians Fellowship in Niger State, saying that the prosecution failed to provide convincing evidence to prove their culpability in the offence. The court decried that the convicts “used explosives meant for blasting rocks for mining purposes, to killing human being who had done nothing against them. Human life is sacred. There is no human life that is more sacred than the other. The convicts have shown lack of respect for human life. They deserve to be removed from the society.” The court also dismissed their no-case-submission, noting that in view of the evidence before the court, Ibrahim, who bagged 10 years jail term, aside not disclosing the terrorist tendencies of the other accused persons to relevant authorities, “served as errand boy for the four others who had engaged in illegal weapon training.”
Posted on: Fri, 12 Jul 2013 22:25:53 +0000
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