“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 were convicted of concealing information about the masterminds of the attack after they pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against them by the Federal Government.
The three defendants had earlier pleaded guilty during proceedings before Justice Salem Ibrahim of the Federal High Court, in Abuja.
They were also accused of belonging to Darul Salam, which authorities described as an affiliate of Ansaru, a banned terrorist organisation in Nigeria.
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The defendants during their arraignment confessed to have failed to disclose information about those alleged to have masterminded the kidnapping in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Their guilty pleas enabled the court to convict them of the charges.
The court later sentenced the three convicts to life imprisonment for their role in the incident.
The first and third defendants, Abdulrazak Umar and Shamsudin Adamu, also pleaded guilty to charges of giving training and instructions to members of a WhatsApp group.
The group, “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace,” was reportedly 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 pleaded guilty to being members of Darul Salam, which was described in the charges as an affiliate of the proscribed terrorist organisation Ansaru.
Umar also pleaded guilty to a second charge – engaging in gold mining without lawful authorisation.
The prosecution alleged that he was illegally mining gold at streams in the Chaza area of Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
