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A high court in Abuja on Thursday convicted and sentenced five men, including a Nigerien citizen, to 25 years’ imprisonment for terrorism offences.
Justice Binta Nyako handed down the judgement after the convicts pleaded guilty to four counts of a charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
The convicts are Yusuf Mohammed, also known as Bature; Goni Ibrahim Bindi, also known as Goni Mutuwa; Sani Tulur, also known as Danladi; Mubarak Ibrahim; and Musa Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe.
The prosecution tendered items recovered from the defendants, including 15 AK-103 rifles with magazines and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition. The defence raised no objection.
Justice Nyako admitted the items as exhibits and convicted the defendants.
The prosecution also applied for a Volkswagen car used in transporting the weapons to be forfeited to the state.
Justice Nyako sentenced each of the five men to 25 years on count one.
On counts two and three, she sentenced the third, fourth and fifth defendants to seven years each.
On count four, only the first defendant received a 25-year sentence.
The judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently, starting from the date of their arrest.
She also ordered that the convicts serve their terms in a facility designated by the Minister of Interior, and that all recovered exhibits be forfeited to the government.
The court heard that between April 23 and April 24, the five men conspired to transport 15 AK-103 rifles and 1,434 rounds of ammunition from the Diffa region of the Niger Republic to a Boko Haram member identified as Malam Ahmad in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.
The offence violated Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
