The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court has sentenced Ali Kolo, a victim of the Boko Haram insurgency, to nine years’ imprisonment for failing to report terrorists’ activities after spending over ten years in detention.
Mr Kolo was convicted by Justice Peter Lifu for failing to inform the relevant authorities of the insurgents’ activities.
He told the court that he was a victim of the Boko Haram insurgency, as he was shot in the leg in Borno while attempting to report the terrorists to the authorities.
The defendant was arraigned by the federal government on four counts but pleaded guilty to one count bordering on concealment of information about Boko Haram activities in Borno.
The prosecution counsel, David Kaswe, told the court that Mr Kolo failed to disclose terrorist activities to security agencies as required under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013.
Mr Kaswe tendered the defendant’s extra-judicial statement and an investigation report to the court in evidence.
Both documents were admitted without objection, indicating that Mr Kolo failed to assist authorities in efforts to curb terrorist activities.
The prosecutor argued that the defendant knowingly withheld critical information from security agencies in 2017.
He urged the court to impose a 10-year sentence based on the defendant’s guilty plea and the evidence tendered before the court.
The defence counsel, A.O. Usman, told the court that Mr Kolo was shot while attempting to report the terrorists and was hospitalised, and that was what prevented him from conveying the information to the authorities.
In his judgment, Mr Lifu held that although Mr Kolo failed to report the terrorists, the omission resulted from circumstances beyond his control, including the gunshot injury he sustained.
The judge sentenced him to nine years’ imprisonment but ruled that the term should start from 2017, when he was arrested and detained by authorities.
Mr Lifu held that the defendant had already spent more than the sentence in custody and ordered his immediate release to enable him to seek medical attention.
The judge emphasised that Mr Kolo was not convicted for terrorism or membership of Boko Haram but solely for concealment of information regarding the activities of the terrorist group.
He added that continued detention would amount to double jeopardy, noting that the defendant had suffered sufficiently and should be freed upon completion of necessary release formalities.
In a related case, the court also sentenced Ibrahim Buba, a bricklayer, to ten years’ imprisonment for failing to disclose information on Boko Haram activities.
Mr Buba admitted knowing some members of the group but failed to report them, saying he fled from Borno to Mubi and later to Onitsha to escape threats.
The prosecution said that he was arrested in 2023 while working in Onitsha and pleaded guilty to charges of withholding information from security agencies about known terrorist activities in his area.
The court sentenced him to ten years’ imprisonment, starting from March 24, 2023, after reducing the term from the 20 years requested by the prosecution.
The federal government on Tuesday began a mass trial of suspected terrorism cases.
(NAN)
