“Suspects in Oriire abduction sentenced to life imprisonment by Federal High Court Abuja.
The three suspects were sentenced for their participation in the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
They pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against them by the Federal Government and were convicted of concealing information about the masterminds of the attack.
The three defendants had previously pleaded guilty before Justice Salem Ibrahim of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
They were also accused of belonging to Darul Salam, which authorities described as an affiliate of Ansaru, a banned terrorist organisation in Nigeria.
The defendants confessed at their arraignment to have failed to disclose information about those alleged to have masterminded the kidnapping in the Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
They pled guilty and that allowed the court to find them guilty of the charges.
Later, the court sentenced the three convicts to life imprisonment for their involvement in the incident.
The first and third defendants, Abdulrazak Umar and Shamsudin Adamu, also admitted to giving training and instructions to members of a WhatsApp group.
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The group, “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace,” was said to have been used by the prosecution to incite members to carry out acts of terrorism.
Umar and Adamu confessed to the allegations in court.
The defendants also admitted to being members of Darul Salam, which the charges identified as a branch of the banned terrorist organisation Ansaru.
Umar also pleaded guilty to a second charge – engaging in gold mining without lawful authorisation.
The prosecution said he was illegally mining gold at streams in the Chaza area of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.