A self-confessed member of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Abubakar Goni, has been sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Goni, a native of Daira village in Gubi Local Government area of Yobe State, was sentenced on Friday by Justice Binta Nyako after admitting that he knowingly joined the proscribed terrorist group more than 15 years ago.
The Federal Government had arraigned him on a five-count charge bordering on membership of Boko Haram, receiving training in the handling of AK-47 assault rifles, launching attacks against civilians and looting food belonging to other people to feed members of the group.
He was also accused of participating in attacks on communities in the Niger Republic before the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested him in 2016.
When the charges were read to him on Friday, Goni admitted being a member of Boko Haram but denied the other allegations.
Following his admission, Justice Nyako invoked Section 16(1) of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013, to sentence him to 30 years’ imprisonment.
Earlier, his counsel, Dauda Hassan, had appealed to the court for leniency, urging the judge to impose the minimum sentence on his client.
Hassan argued that Goni had voluntarily admitted the offence without wasting the court’s time and pleaded with the judge to temper justice with mercy.
In consideration of the plea and the fact that Goni was a first-time offender, Justice Nyako ordered that the 30-year prison term should take effect from 2016, when he was arrested by the DSS and detained.
The judge also directed the Federal Ministry of Interior to determine the correctional facility where the convict would serve his sentence. Source:Daily Post