Oyo Att@ck: Court Sentences Three T+rrorists Involved in Oriire School Abd¥ction to Life Imprisonment

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men linked to the abd¥ction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to life imprisonment.

Justice Salim Ibrahim ruled that the life sentences imposed on Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid, Yunusa Musa (Yunusa Bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (Abu Itisar) would take effect from the date of their arrest.

Before sentencing, defence counsel urged the court to temper justice with mercy, arguing that the defendants were first-time offenders who had pleaded guilty and shown remorse. He also appealed for leniency, saying they were married with children and had elderly parents who depended on them.

However, the prosecution opposed the plea, arguing that the convicts knowingly concealed information about t+rrorist activities and failed in their duty as citizens to alert security authorities.

The three men pleaded guilty to belonging to a proscribed t+rrorist group and concealing information relating to the planning and execution of the school abd¥ction.

Abdulrazak Umar additionally pleaded guilty to four separate counts involving t+rrorist training, passing operational instructions, and inciting members of the t+rror group through extremist religious ideology.

The Department of State Services (DSS) had arraigned the suspects on a 10-count charge bordering on k+dnapping, t+rrorism-related offences, and concealment of information.

According to the charges, the trio, all from Niger State, knowingly withheld intelligence about t+rrorist activities, participated in k+dnapping operations, and used a messaging platform to facilitate t+rrorist training and coordination.