Court sentences suspects in Oriire abduction to life imprisonment

By Tolulope Oke

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday sentenced three men linked to the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences.

Justice Salim Ibrahim ordered that the sentences should take effect from the dates of their arrest.

The convicts are Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Yunusa bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.

The three men, who hail from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, were arrested by the Department of State Services and prosecuted on a 10-count charge.

All three pleaded guilty to counts four and six, while Umar also admitted guilt to counts seven, eight, nine and 10, which applied exclusively to him.

In count four, the prosecution accused the convicts of withholding information between January and May about the activities of Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab.

The three individuals were described by prosecutors as terrorists responsible for the abduction of the pupils and teachers in Oriire.

Despite allegedly knowing their identities and involvement in the attack, the convicts failed to report the information to the appropriate security agencies.

Before sentencing, defence counsel appealed for leniency, describing the convicts as first-time offenders who had demonstrated remorse by pleading guilty.

The lawyer argued that the offences admitted by the men did not involve directly carrying out the kidnapping.

He also told the court that the convicts were married, had children and cared for elderly parents who depended on them.

The prosecution opposed the plea for a lighter sentence, arguing that the convicts knew about the activities of the alleged terrorists and had a duty as Nigerians to report them to the authorities.