A Federal High Court in Abuja has
sentenced Kabir Umar, alias “Kabiru Sokoto’’ to life in prison for the bombing
of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger.
Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who gave
the sentence on Friday, found Umar guilty on the two-count charge against him.
He said “the prosecution has proved
their case beyond reasonable doubt in the two-count charge. Umar is guilty as
charged.’’
The News Agency of Nigeria reports
that the judge held that the convict belonged to an illegal organisation, Boko
Haram, and facilitated terrorist acts intended to bomb the Police Headquarters
in Sokoto State.
He also held that Umar had
information about the planning and bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church,
Madalla, on December 25, 2011 but failed to disclose such to security agencies.
The first charge is punishable with
life imprisonment under Section 15(2) of the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission Act 2004, and the second charge attracted 10 years imprisonment
under Section 7(1) under Terrorism Act, 2011.
The judge described the convict as
a “pathological liar’’ who did not “show remorse’’ throughout the trial, saying
“the convict has no respect for truth.’’
He commended the prosecution
counsel for a job well done, as well as the Department of State Service (DSS)
for the diligence in investigating the matter and bringing the trial to a
conclusion.
The judge, however, noted that the
police had not been able to investigate the circumstance that brought Umar to
the Borno Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, where he was arrested on January 14, 2012.
He urged them to investigate the
matter with a view to bringing to justice whoever was involved in helping Umar
to hide in the lodge, no matter how highly placed.
No comments:
Post a Comment