The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced four suspects involved in the bombing of the Independent National Electoral Commission offices in Suleja to life imprisonment without the option of parole.
Four of the defendants, Shuaibu Abubakar, Salisu Ahmed, Umar Babagana-Umar and Mohammed Ali, were sentenced to life whilst one Musa Adamu was discharged and acquited on the grounds that no physical evidence linked him to the crime.
Justice Bilkisu Aliyu, while delivering the judgment said,
“In the case of the sixth accused person, he was neither directly involved in terrorist acts nor trained as a terrorist; he was misled to be an errand boy.
“His brother, the first accused person (Shuaibu) used him to take food to Boko Haram training camp in Suleja; he is quite young and has life ahead of him.
“In view of the plea from his lawyer, Mr Kevin Okoro, the court is persuaded to commit the sixth accused person (Ibrahim) to 10 years in prison.
“For the rest of the accused persons, the court is satisfied with the evidence brought against them. In most of the charges, the prosecution was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt why they should be convicted.
“It is clear that Abubakar, Ahmed, Babagana-Umar, and Ali are liable to the charges of causing death to several and injury to many others through their willful terrorist acts.
“It is also proven by the prosecution that the above four accused persons are members of Boko Haram and have undergone training to handle weapons and explosives for the purpose of causing death of innocent people.
“The convicts, minus the sixth accused person, used explosive materials used in blasting rocks on fellow human beings; those who
got no defence.
“There is no human life that is worthier than the other. These convicts have deliberately used the explosives in the most brutal
manner against other Nigerians.
“In the circumstance, the first to fourth accused persons are guilty as charged and are sentenced to life imprisonment while the sixth accused is sentenced to 10 years in prison.
“For the fifth accused person, Musa Adam, his only offence was that he was a friend of Bashir Madalla, the leader of the Sect, Madalla Chapter.
“The evidence brought against him is not strong because the charges did not link him to have committed any terrorist act with the rest accused person.
“In his defence, he explained how he warned Bashir Madalla, with whom they were teaching Islamic religion together to refrain from activism.”