The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced three persons implicated in the abduction of 46 school children and their teachers to life in prison.
Justice Salim Ibrahim sentenced Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsu Adamu Sani after they had pleaded guilty to charges of terrorism, kidnapping and membership of banned Darul Salam Group.
The three admitted that they concealed information about the persons that planned and carried out the kidnapping of the school children and their teachers from three schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State sometime in May 2026. They also confessed that they were members of the terrorist group – Boko Haram.
The convicts all hail from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
This conviction is one of the quickest in the history of kidnapping in Nigeria, as the three were convicted less than two weeks after they were charged to court.
The Federal Government had announced the rescue of 44 of the 46 kidnapped persons some two weeks ago, after a successful joint security operation across several states.
Two of the kidnapped victims died in the kidnappers’ den: one, a teacher, was beheaded by the abductors, while a child died also in unclear circumstances in their enclave.