Court Jails Boko Haram Victim For 9 Years After 10 Years In Detention

A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a Boko Haram victim, Ali Kolo, to nine-year imprisonment after he had already spent more than 10 years in detention awaiting trial.

The trial judge, Justice Peter Odo Lifu, however, ordered his immediate release, ruling that the convict had already served more than the prison term imposed by the court.

Kolo, who sustained a gunshot injury to his right leg from Boko Haram insurgents in Borno State while attempting to report their activities to the military, was on Thursday found guilty of failing to disclose information about the terrorist group to security agencies.

The Federal Government had arraigned him on a four-count charge, but he pleaded guilty to one count bordering on concealment of information on the activities of the terrorist group.

Prosecuting counsel, Mr. David Kaswe, a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Justice, told the court that the defendant in 2017 failed to relay information on the activities of the terrorists to the military or any other security agency, as required under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013.

Kaswe tendered the defendant’s extra-judicial statement and an investigation report, both of which were admitted in evidence without objection from defence counsel, Mrs A.O. Usman.

He urged the court to impose a 10-year jail term on the defendant, citing his guilty plea and confessional statement.

In her plea for leniency, defence counsel, Mrs Usman, told the court that the defendant was attacked while on his way to report the terrorists.

“The defendant was shot with an AK-47 gun while on his way to report the terrorists to the military,” she said, adding that the injury forced him into medical care and prevented him from completing his mission.

In his judgement, Justice Lifu held that although the defendant failed to report the activities of the terrorist group, the failure was due to circumstances beyond his control.

He subsequently sentenced Kolo to nine-year imprisonment, ordering that the sentence take effect from 2017 when he was first detained.

The judge noted that the convict had already spent more than 10 years in custody.

“The convict had already spent more than 10 years in detention and must therefore be released immediately to enable him attend to his injury,” he ruled.

Despite reservations expressed by the prosecution, Justice Lifu maintained that the defendant was not convicted for membership of Boko Haram or participation in terrorist activities but solely for concealment of information.

“The convict has suffered enough and must be released immediately… keeping him further in prison would amount to double jeopardy,” the judge added.

He, thereafter, directed that the convict be released upon the signing of the warrant for his release.