The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, handed life imprisonment verdicts to three persons, over their involvement in the kidnapping of students and teachers of a school in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Justice Salim Ibrahim convicted and sentenced the defendants, Abdulrazak Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (a.k.a. Yunusa bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (a.k.a. Abu Itisar), after they pleaded guilty to some of the allegations the Federal Government levelled against them.
The defendants were docked before the court on a 10-count charge that bordered on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment, incitement, and illegal mining.
Following their arraignment, they admitted that they concealed information about the masterminds of the school attack.
The defendants also admitted their membership of Darul Salam, which was described as an affiliate of Jamaatu Asarul Muslima Fi Bilandis Sudan (Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria.
While all three defendants pleaded guilty to counts four and six of the charge, only the 1st defendant, Umar, alias Abu Khalid, accepted guilt on counts 7, 8, 9, and 10, which bordered on allegations that he provided training and instructions to terrorists via a WhatsApp group titled “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace”.
However, they maintained their innocence on the remaining counts of the charge.
