Bandit leader’s Mother, Sister sentenced to 20 years imprisonment each for terrorism-related offences
Court jails bandit leader Battujo’s mother, sister 20 years each for terrorism-related offences
The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two relatives of slain bandit kingpin Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo to 20 years imprisonment each after they admitted to charges linked to terrorism and withholding intelligence from security agencies.
Justice Hauwa Yilwa delivered the judgment on Friday following the guilty pleas entered by Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi, who were prosecuted by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).
The two convicts, identified as Battujo’s mother and sister, were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) during investigations into the activities of the notorious bandit leader. Battujo was killed on June 10 during a security operation in a forest around Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
During the trial, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, requested the court’s permission to withdraw two of the five charges filed against the defendants.
According to the prosecution, the women knowingly benefited from proceeds linked to terrorist activities, including receiving N490,300 from Battujo. They were also accused of undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage with financial support allegedly provided by the bandit leader through funds suspected to have originated from terrorism-related activities.
The prosecution subsequently urged the court to strike out the withdrawn counts and convict the defendants based on the remaining charges to which they had pleaded guilty.
Court documents showed that the women maintained communication with Battujo and were found to have facilitated his activities by passing information to him through telephone conversations.
They were also convicted for failing to disclose information that could have aided law enforcement agencies in tracking and arresting the bandit leader.
The prosecution told the court that one of the defendants deliberately failed to alert authorities despite being aware of Battujo’s criminal activities, while the other allegedly visited his camp in the forest, saw him armed with weapons, and still withheld the information from security operatives.
In her ruling, Justice Yilwa sentenced each of the defendants to 20 years imprisonment on the charges they admitted to.
The court, however, ordered that the prison terms run concurrently and directed that both convicts undergo rehabilitation programmes after completing their sentences.
Before his death, Battujo was regarded as one of the prominent bandit commanders operating across parts of north-west and north-central Nigeria, where armed groups have been linked to attacks, kidnappings and other violent crimes.
