The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday sentenced two women arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for their involvement in terrorism-related activities to 40 years in prison.
The convicted women, Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi, are
the mother and sister, respectively, of terrorist kingpin Kachallah Ibrahim
Battujo, who was eliminated by Nigerian security forces on June 10, 2026, in a
forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.
Justice Hauwa Joseph Yilwa handed down the sentences after
both women pleaded guilty to Counts 2, 4 and 5 of the five-count
terrorism-related charge brought against them by the Office of the Attorney
General of the Federation.
Both women escaped conviction on Counts 1 and 3, which
bordered on receiving N490,300 from Battujo while being fully aware it was
proceeds of terrorism, as well as receiving sponsorship for a holy pilgrimage
funded with proceeds of terrorism.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Oyedepo Rotimi, SAN,
urged the court to strike out both counts but convict them on the others.
According to Count 2, both women “aided and abetted the
activities of Battujo, a known bandit kingpin, and passed information through
telephone conversations to the said Battujo, thereby committing an offence
contrary to and punishable under Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention and
Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
In addition to pleading guilty to Count 2, Battujo’s mother
pleaded guilty to Count 5, which bordered on concealing information about the
terrorism-related activities of her son.
On her part, the sister of the late terrorist kingpin, in
addition to pleading guilty to Count 2, also pleaded guilty to Count 4, which
bordered on concealing information that her brother had illegally acquired
firearms, which she saw when she visited his forest camp.
While the punishment for each count is 20 years, Justice
Yilwa ordered that the sentences run concurrently, after which the convicts
will undergo rehabilitation.
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