Mother, Sister of Slain Bandit Leader Jailed 20 years for Aiding Terrorism

The federal high court in Abuja has sentenced two relatives of Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo, a slain bandit leader, to 20 years imprisonment each for aiding terrorism and concealing information about his activities.

Hauwa Yilwa, presiding judge, handed down the sentence on Friday after the defendants, Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi, pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges filed against them by the office of the attorney-general of the federation (AGF).

The Department of State Services (DSS) arrested the women following investigations into the activities of Battujo, who was killed by security forces on June 10 during an operation in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu LGA of Kogi state.

The convicts are Battujo’s mother and sister.

During the proceedings, Rotimi Oyedepo, director of public prosecutions of the federation, applied to withdraw two of the five counts against the defendants.

The charges alleged that the women received N490,300 from Battujo despite knowing the money was linked to terrorism.

The duo were also accused of accepting sponsorship from him for the hajj pilgrimage using funds suspected to be proceeds of terrorist activities.

The prosecution asked the court to strike out the counts and convict the defendants on the remaining charges to which they had pleaded guilty.

One of the charges stated that the women aided and abetted the activities of Battujo by passing information to him through telephone conversations.

The court also found them guilty of concealing information that could have assisted security agencies in apprehending the bandit leader.

According to the prosecution, one of the women failed to report knowledge of Battujo’s activities to law enforcement authorities, while the other withheld information after visiting his forest camp and seeing him in possession of firearms.

Yilwa sentenced each defendant to 20 years imprisonment on the counts to which they pleaded guilty.

The judge ordered that the sentences run concurrently and directed that the convicts undergo rehabilitation after serving their prison terms.

Battujo was among the bandit leaders operating across parts of north-west and north-central Nigeria before he was killed in a military operation earlier this month.