Court sentences man to nine years in jail for failing to report Boko Haram activities

Despite being a victim of Boko Haram terrorism and having been in prison for more than a decade, the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Ali Kolo to nine years in prison.

Thursday's ruling was handed down by Justice Peter Odo Lifu, who found Kolo guilty of not providing security agencies with information about the terrorist group's activities.

In fact, Kolo was shot in the right leg by Boko Haram militants in Borno State while he was on his way to the military to give them the information about the group's activities. However, the Federal Government charged him initially with four counts, and he only admitted to one count of concealing information relating to Boko Haram's activities in the state.

In the course of the prosecution, the federal prosecutor, David Kaswe, who is a Deputy Director at the Federal Ministry of Justice, submitted evidence indicating that in 2017, Kolo did not disclose the information to the military or any other security agencies, which was contrary to the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013. The prosecution also presented Kolo's extra-judicial statement along with the investigation report, which gave weight to his indictment for hindering the efforts to fight the insurgency.

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Kolo's defense team, led by A.O. Usman, while admitting the evidence, argued that the failure to report resulted from extenuating circumstances, as Kolo was wounded by the Boko Haram militants during the very act of fulfilling his duty to the military, thus he was unable to report.

The lawyer also pleaded with the judge not to be harsh on his client, considering the injury and trauma he suffered from the attack.

Justice Lifu, in his ruling, agreed that Kolo indeed did not inform about the terrorist activities but thought that the failure was because he was held captive.

Therefore, the court sentenced the defendant, Kolo, to a 9-year jail term, backdated from 2017 when he was arrested.

The judge also ordered Kolo’s immediate release, noting that he had already spent more than 10 years in detention, surpassing his sentence. This decision was intended to prevent double jeopardy.

Despite objections Justice Lifu made it clear that while the prosecution had asked for a 10-year sentence, Kolo's conviction was strictly for concealing information, not for being part of Boko Haram or taking part in terrorist training. 

In a different case, Ibrahim Buba, a bricklayer hailing from Borno State and known locally as Baba Gana, received a 10-year prison term for not reporting Boko Haram activities. Buba explained that he had to leave Borno and move to Mubi in Adamawa State, and eventually to Onitsha in Anambra, after recognizing some militants who were specifically targeting him. He admitted that he knew two of the terrorists but didn't inform the military about them. 

Although Buba was charged under two separate counts, he asked the court for a more lenient sentence. Justice Lifu considered his plea and reduced the sentence from the 20 years the prosecution had requested down to 10 years.