The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday convicted and sentenced the mother and sister of late bandit kingpin Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo to forty years in prison each.
The convicts, Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi, were found to have passed information through telephone conversations to Battujo in aid of his terrorist acts, thereby committing an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Hauwa Yilwa, also convicted the two women for concealing information by failing to disclose Battujo’s activities to law enforcement or security agents as soon as reasonably practicable, to enable his apprehension.
It was established that they had visited the bandit kingpin’s camp in the forest, where they saw him in possession of firearms, but failed to disclose this information to security agencies.
Justice Yilwa handed down the sentences after the defendants pleaded guilty to counts 2, 4, and 5 of a five-count terrorism-related charge brought against them by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
However, the court discharged them on counts 1 and 3 of the charge, which alleged that they had received ₦490,300 from Battujo while aware that the funds were proceeds of terrorism.
The court also discharged them on the allegation that they had received sponsorship from the bandit leader to travel for the Hajj pilgrimage.
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According to the prosecution, the convicts reasonably ought to have known that the funds used to sponsor their pilgrimage were proceeds of terrorism, and therefore committed an offence contrary to and punishable under Section 21 of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, had applied for the two counts to be struck out, while urging the court to convict and sentence the defendants on the remaining three counts of the charge.
