The Bako Haram doctor was jailed for 20 years, the reporter for 15 years

Judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja has convicted and sentenced a terrorist, Bello Liman (aka Doctor Alhaji Bello), to 30 years imprisonment on two charges not approved by the Federal Government.

According to the indictment, Liman, sometime in 2020, in Zamfara State, withheld information that he knew would be helpful in securing the arrest of Usman Kachalla, a terrorist leader in Nigeria, an offense punishable under Section 8(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Amendment Act of 2013.

The accused, who reportedly served as a doctor in Kachalla, pleaded guilty to the two charges and was later sentenced to 10 years on the first count and 20 years on the second count. The sentences begin from the date of his arrest on March 20 2020 and run concurrently.

“The prison term will be spent by the convict in a correctional institution that collaborates with the state. At the end of the prison term, the convict must be deradicalized and rehabilitated.

In a related development, Judge Binta Nyako on Monday convicted and sentenced a 55-year-old farmer in Borno State, Ali Mustapha, to 15 years in prison for also concealing information about Boko Haram activities.

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The farmer, who has been detained since 2013, is one of the terrorism suspects charged by the Attorney General’s Office of the Federation. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced accordingly.

Baahir, who claimed to be a major Perfume Oil dealer and Point of Sales (POS) operator, was found guilty of using his United Bank of Africa (UBA) account number 2213629628 to facilitate money transfers for members of the Boko Haram sect.

He specifically admitted to using the account to receive a cash sum of N5 million from Boko Haram member, Ibrahim Modu, into the account and then transferred the money to the terrorist Access Bank account with number 1834250967.

The convict admitted to committing the offense at the Maiduguri Money Market in 2025 and received a commission of N20,000 from the transaction.

Based on his guilty plea and confession, Judge Nyako sentenced him to 20 years in prison without the option of a fine.

The judge rejected the convict’s request for leniency and added that the law must run its course.
The father of 11 was jailed following his guilty plea to terrorism charges brought against him by the AGF.

Fagbemi, who represented the Federal Government, accused the convict of concealing information that would lead to the immediate arrest of Boko Haram members.

However, the convict urged the judge to be lenient with him on the grounds that he was the first perpetrator and for the sake of his 11 children and two wives.

Judge Nyako dismissed his application as untenable and sentenced him to 20 years in prison without the option of a fine.