KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced three suspects in the Oriire abduction case to life imprisonment for roles in kidnapping students and teachers in Oyo State.
- Justice Salem Ibrahim convicted the defendants after they pleaded guilty to concealing information about the attack masterminds and admitting membership of Darul Salam, linked to Ansaru.
- The court also heard Abdulrazak Umar and Shamsudin Adamu pleaded guilty to training a WhatsApp group for alleged terror incitement, while Umar admitted illegal gold mining in Suleja.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced suspects in Oriire abduction to life imprisonment.
The three suspects were sentenced for their role in the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The convicts were found guilty of concealing information about the masterminds of the attack after admitting to the charges brought against them by the Federal Government.
The three defendants had earlier pleaded guilty during proceedings before Justice Salem Ibrahim of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
They were also accused of belonging to Darul Salam, which authorities described as an affiliate of Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria.
During their arraignment, the defendants admitted that they failed to disclose information relating to those allegedly responsible for masterminding the kidnapping in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Their guilty pleas paved the way for the court to convict them on the charges.
The court subsequently sentenced the three convicts to life imprisonment for their roles in the incident.
The first and third defendants, Abdulrazak Umar and Shamsudin Adamu, also pleaded guilty to charges accusing them of providing training and instructions to members of a WhatsApp group.
According to the prosecution, the group, titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace,” was allegedly used to incite members to commit acts of terrorism.
Umar and Adamu admitted to the allegations during the court proceedings.
The defendants had also pleaded guilty to being members of Darul Salam, which was described in the charges as an affiliate of the proscribed terrorist organisation, Ansaru.
Umar also pleaded guilty to an additional charge of engaging in gold mining without lawful authorisation.
The prosecution accused him of illegally mining gold at streams in the Chaza area of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
