A Federal High Court in Kainji has sentenced Haruna Yahaya,
a physically challenged person who was one of those, who abducted Chibok
schoolgirls, to 15 years in prison as the trials of Boko Haram suspects resume.
He was among 20 Boko Haram terrorists who were jailed yesterday to serve various
prison terms. Haruna Yahaya Yahaya, 35, a physically challenged person, was
found guilty of taking part in the abduction of over 200 girls from Government
Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno State in April, 2014. The closed trial is
taking place at Wawa Catonment, Kainji, Niger State. Yahaya, a former trader
from Potiskum, Yobe State had pleaded for mercy, claiming he was conscripted
into the terrorist sect. Earlier, defense counsel, Matthew Egege asked the
court to discharge Yahaya, pleading that his testimony is pathetic. He argued
that as a conscript he could have been killed if he had refused the sect’s
orders. But the judge said he could not use his physical condition to win
sympathy, adding that he had a choice not to participate in the Boko Haram
activities even though he was forced. He was charged under the Terrorism
Prevention Act, 2011. The court ruled that Haruna Yahaya will serve the term in
any prison facility, to be determined by the Comptroller General of the
Nigerian Prisons Service. The other 19 convicts were sentenced to between three
and five years from date of their arrest. The verdicts were given at the
resumed fast track trial of Boko Haram suspects being detained in the location.
Over 700 detainees will appear before the court during the trial. Last year,
over 50 Boko Haram members were convicted by the court, while over 400 were
released for lack of evidence. Yayaya yesterday gave an account of how he
participated in the abduction of over 200 girls in Chibok, Borno State. Yahaya admitted
to have killed a number of citizens in Gabsuri and Chibok towns in Damboa Local
Government Area of Borno State, after he claimed the sect members forcefully
conscripted him. He claimed that during the operation at the secondary school
in Chibok in April 2014, he was forced to carry an AK47 rifle. He said he
usually tied the weapon to his functional arm with index fingers at the
trigger. He said on the day of the operation, while the insurgents ransacked
the school and abducted the boarding students, who were preparing for WAEC
examinations, one of them, whom he later had a love affair with, pleaded with
him for mercy. “I told the girl that I am not in a position to help because I
too was forcefully conscripted into the operation,” he said. He further told
the court that he sent for wrapper to be bought for the girl while in their
camp, when he realized she had no wrapper. He added that he at one time
contemplated escaping with the girl. He said he was eventually arrested by
members of the Civilian Joint Taskforce (CJTF) during an operation. Meanwhile,
the court had discharged another suspect, Malam Umar, who was fingered as a
Boko Haram provisions supplier by sect members arrested by the CJTF. The court
accepted his explanation that he did not know he supplied food items to a Boko
Haram middle man who paid him N300, 000 and 100 Euro for the supplies. In a
statement yesterday signed by Othman Salihu Isah, the Special Assistant to the
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)and Minister for Justice, Abubakar
Malami (SAN),said there are about 1, 669 suspects held at the facility, while
468 were discharged for lack of evidence. They will undergo a programme of
de-radicalisation at the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA). The
statement said 82 persons entered plea of guilty to secure lesser sentence. In
a brief ceremony, a lead judge of the Federal High Court said about 700 Boko
Haram suspects have been processed for the current exercise, and solicited for
the cooperation of the representatives of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA),
the Legal Aid Council, the National Human Rights Commission, staff of the
Ministry of Justice and the media, who were part of the exercise. In his
remarks, the Director, legal services at the Defense Headquarters, Abuja, Air
Vice Marshal Ibrahim Shafi’i said the programme is a very important process for
Nigeria in its effort to tackle the challenges of insurgency. He stressed that
the Nigerian military will continue to respect the human rights of citizens in
its bid to secure the country. “This judicial process has never been done
anywhere in the world,” he said. Hearing continues today.
Kidnapper Of Chibok Schoolgirls Jailed For 15 Years
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February 13, 2018
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A Federal High Court in Kainji has sentenced Haruna Yahaya, a physically challenged person who was one of those, who abducted Chibok ...
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