COURT JAILS MOTHER, SISTER OF SLAIN BANDIT LEADER 20 YEARS FOR AIDING TERRORISM
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By ‘Sefiu Ajape
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two relatives of the slain bandit leader Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo to 20 years imprisonment each for terrorism-related offences, including aiding terrorism and withholding information about his activities.
Justice Hauwa Yilwa delivered the judgment on Friday after the defendants, Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi, pleaded guilty to charges filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
The Department of State Services (DSS) had arrested the women following investigations into Battujo’s operations. The bandit leader was killed by security forces on June 10 during a raid in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
The convicts are the mother and sister of the deceased bandit leader.
During proceedings, Rotimi Oyedepo, Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, applied to withdraw two out of the five counts against the defendants.
The charges alleged that the women received ₦490,300 from Battujo despite knowing the funds were linked to terrorism activities. They were also accused of benefiting from sponsorship by him for the Hajj pilgrimage, using proceeds suspected to be derived from terrorism.
The prosecution urged the court to strike out the withdrawn counts and proceed to convict the defendants on the remaining charges, which they had admitted to.
One of the charges stated that the women aided and abetted Battujo’s activities by passing information to him through telephone conversations.
The court also found them guilty of concealing information that could have assisted security agencies in apprehending the bandit leader.
According to the prosecution, one of the women failed to report knowledge of Battujo’s activities to law enforcement authorities, while the other withheld information after visiting his forest camp and observing him in possession of firearms.
Justice Yilwa sentenced each defendant to 20 years imprisonment on the counts they pleaded guilty to. The sentences are to run concurrently, and the court further ordered that they undergo rehabilitation after completing their jail terms.
Battujo was among several bandit leaders operating across parts of Nigeria’s North-West and North-Central regions before he was killed in a recent military operation.
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