BREAKING: Court jails abductors of pupils

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja  has slammed 25-year jail sentence on each of the five persons arrested over their involvement in the November 21, 2025, attack on St. Joseph Catholic Church, Papiri, Niger State.

Daily Trust had reported how gunmen invaded the school and abducted over 300 students and staff.

While about 50 of the students managed to escape, the gunmen marched over 250 of the students for days into the Kainji Lake Reserve Forest.

The Department of State Services (DSS) trailed the attacker and arrested five of them.

They are Yusuf Mohamned (Aka Bature), Goni Ibrahim Bindi (Aka Goni Mutuwa), Sani Tukur (Aka Danladi), Mubarak Ibrahin amd Musa Alhaji Adamu (Aka Gado Banufe).

In one of the arrests, DSS operatives recovered 15 AK-47 rifles and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition tucked in sacks in a Volkswagen Golf car.

The recovered arms and ammunition were tendered in court. The court ordered the forfeiture of the Golf car to the Nigerian government.

On Thursday, Justice Binta Nyako handed the sentence shortly after the five men, including two Nigeriens, pleaded guilty to all the four terrorism-related charges pressed against them.

The charges bordered on support for commission of act of terrorism, breaching both Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as the the Firearms Act.

COUNT 1 of the charge read: “That you, Yusuf Muhammad (a.k.a. Bature), adult, male, thirty-three (33) years old of Gofanti village, Borgu LGA, Niger State, Goni Ibrahim Bindi (a.k.a. Goni Mutua), adult, male, twenty-three (23) years old of Awadiri, Diffa region, Republic of Niger, Sani Tukur (a.k.a. Danladi), adult, male, twenty five 25) years old of Sansani Displaced Persons Camp, Diffa region, Republic of Niger, Mubarak Ibrahim, adult, male twenty eight (28) years old of Gofanti village, Borgu LGA of Niger State, and Musa Alhaji Adamu (a.k.a Gado Banufe) between 23d and 24th April, 2026 did commit an offence, to wit: jointly conspired to render assistance to a terrorist by agreeing and intentionally playing various roles towards conveying fifteen (15) AK 103 rifles as well as about one thousand, four hundred and thirty-four (1,434) rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from Diffa region, Republic of Niger to one Malam Ahmad, a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group based in Borgu LGA of Niger State. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

COUNT 2 read: “That you, Yusuf Muhammad (a.k.a. Bature), adult, male, thirty-three (33) years old of Gofanti village, Borgu LGA, Niger State, Goni Ibrahim Bindi (a.k.a. Goni Mutua), adult, male, twenty-three (23) years old of Awadiri, Diffa region, Republic of Niger, Sani Tukur (a.k.a. Danladi), adult, male, twenty five 25) years old of Sansani Displaced Persons Camp, Diffa region, Republic of Niger, Mubarak Ibrahim, adult, male twenty eight (28) years old of Gofanti village, Borgu LGA of Niger State, and Musa Alhaji Adamu (a.k.a Gado Banufe) between 23rd and 24th April, 2026 did commit an offence, to wit: rendered support for commission of act of terrorism to a terrorist by agreeing and conveying fifteen (15) AK 103 rifles as well as about one thousand, four hundred and thirty-four (1,434) rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from Diffa region, Republic of Niger on behalf of one Malam Ahmad, a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group based in Borgu LGA of Niger State. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 13(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
(Daily trust)