Court jails three Boko Haram terrorists 75 years

Borno, Fund sign pact on rebuilding Dikwa

Three members of the Islamist terrorist group, Boko Haram have each been sentenced to 25 years imprisonment following the affirmation by the Court of Appeal of an earlier ruling in that respect by a Federal High Court in Lagos.

Justice Ibrahim Buba had on September 30, 2014 handed down the verdict after the Lagos State government, through its Ministry of Justice, successfully prosecuted the terrorists.

In its judgment delivered by Justice Y.B Nimpar, the appellate court rejected the appeal filed by the convicts before upholding the judgment of the lower.

The state government had filed charges against four accused persons for conspiracy to commit a felony to wit: acts of terrorism, concealing information about acts of terrorism and having possession of prohibited firearms and ammunition contrary to various sections of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013 and the Firearms Act, Cap F.28 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

Of the quartet, three bags the jail terms, while the fourth accused was discharged and acquitted for being sentenced on a wrong count charge.

Those convicted and sentenced are Ali Mohammed Modu, Adamu Ali Karumi and Ibrahim Usman Ali.

Dissatisfied with the verdict, the convicts through their lawyer approached the Appeal Court in Lagos asking that the ruling be upturned on the grounds that they were allegedly charged under inapplicable laws and that the jail terms of 25 years were excessive.

Meanwhile, the Borno State Government and Victims Support Fund (VSF) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on rebuilding Dikwa town ravaged by the terrorist group so that 72,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) could return to their communities.

According to the terms of the agreement, the state government is to contribute N100 million, while VSF will pay N50 million to construct 25 public buildings in Dikwa.

The Executive Director of VSF, Prof. Sunday Ochoche, at the signing ceremony at Dikwa at the weekend, said the rebuilding of towns and villages destroyed in the state will begin with the border town of Dikwa, which has the highest number of people displaced by the insurgents.

He said of all the communities he visited in Borno, the number of IDPs in Dikwa was overwhelming.