BREAKING: Court sentences three to life imprisonment over Oyo school kidnap

Court sentences three to life imprisonment over Oyo school kidnap

Three men prosecuted over the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Orire Local Government Area of Oyo State have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The judgment was delivered by Justice Salim Ibrahim after the defendants, Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid, Yunusa Musa, alias Yunusa Bin Musa, and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also called Abu Itisar, admitted to offences filed against them by the Department of State Services.

The trio was accused of having links with the criminal group responsible for the school abduction and of withholding information about the activities of the bandits.

Although the DSS filed a 10-count charge against them, the defendants entered guilty pleas to counts relating to membership of a proscribed terrorist organisation and concealment of intelligence concerning the group’s operations.

Following their admission, Justice Ibrahim found them guilty and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment.

The prosecution told the court that the convicts were associates of the bandits behind the kidnapping of pupils and teachers in Orire, an incident that sparked widespread concern in Oyo State and beyond.

More details on the court’s ruling are expected.