Three individuals involved in the Kidnap of school children and teachers from schools in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State, South-West Nigeria have been sentenced to life in prison over their complicity, by Justice Salim Ibrahim of the Federal High Court Abuja.
Justice Ibrahim convicted and sentenced the defendants, Abdulrazak Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khalifa or 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 charges the Federal Government brought 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 the three defendants maintained their innocence on count one, two, four and five, of the charge, they pleaded guilty to counts four and six of the charge.
Only the first defendant, Umar, alias Abu Khalid, accepted guilt on counts Seven, Eight, Nine, and Ten, 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”.
The convicts, all from Suleja LGA of Niger State, were alleged to have conspired with one Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed, and Ibrahim Khabab, between January and May 2026, to kidnap school children and teachers in Oyo State, contrary to Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
They are also alleged to have aided the kidnapping of the school children and teachers, as well as concealed information regarding the identities and activities of the alleged masterminds, despite knowledge of the plot, thereby committing offences contrary to Sections 26(2) and 16(1) of the Act, respectively
Earlier during proceedings,
The prosecution informed the court that the defendants had entered guilty pleas to some of the charges and urged the court to be guided by Section 274 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
The prosecution thereafter urged the court to fix a date for the trial of the remaining counts, noting that the defendants had pleaded not guilty to counts 1, 2, 3 and 5.
In response, counsel to the defendants urged the court to proceed with the conviction on the counts to which guilty pleas had been entered but to defer sentencing until the conclusion of the trial, arguing that this would enable the court to have all the facts before imposing sentence.
Opposing the request, the prosecution argued that deferring sentencing would not be in the interest of justice. Counsel submitted that the law is settled on the procedure to be adopted where an accused person pleads guilty, adding that the only circumstance in which judgement may be deferred is where there is an objection challenging the validity of the charge.
The prosecution therefore urged the court to conclude proceedings on the counts to which the defendants had pleaded guilty and proceed separately with the trial of the outstanding counts.
Following the arguments, the court asked the prosecution to review facts of the case. The prosecution called its first witness, identified by the pseudonym AAA, an investigator with the Department of State Services, DSS.
Led in evidence, the witness told the court that he was assigned earlier this month to investigate the defendants. He testified that during the course of the investigation, the defendants made extra-judicial statements, which he identified in court.
The witness further stated that the defendants were represented by their lawyer while the statements were being taken and that both the defendants and their counsel endorsed the statements.
According to the witness, the interviews were electronically recorded, while the process of obtaining the defendants’ extra-judicial statements was captured using an electronic recording system.
He added that all the recordings were copied onto a flash drive, which the prosecution subsequently sought to tender in evidence before the court.
The matter has however been adjourned to 15th, 16th September, 2026.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
