FEDERAL HIGH COURT JAILS POLITICIAN OVER BOKO HARAM FUEL SUPPLY
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By: Fasasi Hammad
A 2015 senatorial candidate from Borno State has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Abuja for supplying petroleum products to members of the Boko Haram group in the state.
The politician, Babagana Habeeb, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by Justice Peter Odo Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja for aiding and abetting terrorism by selling petroleum products to members of the Boko Haram sect in the North-East.
Habeeb, who was a 2015 senatorial candidate in Borno State and a fuel dealer in Maiduguri, pleaded guilty to a one-count charge filed by the Federal Government. He admitted selling fuel to terrorists during his arraignment but claimed his fuel attendants may have been responsible for the transactions.
During proceedings, he reportedly pleaded for leniency, telling the court that he has two wives and six children and had been in detention for over 10 years without contact with his family.
The prosecution counsel, Mr. David Kaswe, opposed the plea for mercy, arguing that the fuel supplied to the terrorists facilitated attacks that led to deaths and displacement of civilians. He urged the court to impose a 20-year sentence, stressing that such logistical support enabled Boko Haram’s operations.
In his judgment, Justice Lifu held that there was no evidence linking the convict directly to Boko Haram membership or weapons training, noting that the charge was limited to the sale of fuel to the group. The court also accepted that the convict had spent more than a decade in custody, a claim not disputed by the prosecution.
The judge consequently sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment, ordering that the sentence take effect from the date of his arrest and detention. He further directed that the convict be released upon issuance of his release warrant to undergo rehabilitation.
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