The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for their roles in the kidnapping of students and teachers from a school in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Justice Salim Ibrahim handed down the sentence after the defendants — Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid, Yunusa Musa, also called Yunusa bin Musa, and Shamsu Adamu Sani, alias Abu Itisar — pleaded guilty to some of the charges filed against them by the Federal Government.
The three were arraigned on Thursday on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment of information, incitement and illegal mining.
During the proceedings, the defendants admitted concealing information about those responsible for the school attack. They also confessed to being members of Darul Salam, which prosecutors described as an affiliate of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), a terrorist organisation banned in Nigeria.
All three defendants pleaded guilty to counts four and six of the charge. Umar, however, also admitted guilt on counts seven, eight, nine and 10, which accused him of providing training and guidance to terrorists through a WhatsApp group named “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace.”
The defendants pleaded not guilty to the remaining counts.
Following their guilty pleas, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo (SAN), urged the court to convict and sentence them on the counts they had admitted.
According to the prosecution, the convicts, who are all from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, conspired with three other suspects — Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed and Ibrahim Khabab — between January and May 2026 to abduct school children and teachers in Oyo State.
The Federal Government further alleged that they assisted in carrying out the kidnapping and deliberately withheld information about the identities and activities of the alleged masterminds despite being aware of the planned attack.
Prosecutors also told the court that the defendants confessed on or about June 2 to belonging to Darul Salam, a group linked to the proscribed Ansaru terrorist organisation.
The offences were prosecuted under relevant provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, including conspiracy to commit terrorism-related offences, aiding kidnapping, concealing information and membership of a banned terrorist organisation.
