Boko Haram: Court has handed down jail terms to four individuals involved in financing terrorists

The conviction of four financiers of Boko Haram has been achieved by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Bunu Kame, Umar Mohammed, Zana Zarama, and Modu Aisami are the funders of Boko Haram.

After entering guilty pleas to charges that the Federal Government had preferred against them at a special trial that the Federal High Court convened at Dawaki in Abuja, they were found guilty and given prison sentences on Monday.

The Federal Government’s legal team was supervised by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, while F A Bakre, Director of the Criminal Justice Department of the Legal Aid Council (LAC), oversaw the defence team.

After reading the allegations one at a time, the defendants, who were brought before Justices Binta Nyako and Emeka Nwite, begged for mercy.

The Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Mr. M. B. Abubakar, filed a charge alleging that Aisami, one of the defendants, gave money to the terrorist organisation by purchasing food items from them.

Aisami was charged with having a reasonable knowledge that the transactions’ proceeds would be used to fund terrorist activities.

He broke Section 13(1)(a)(ii) of the Terrorism Provision Amendment Act, 2013 by committing an offence.

Nonetheless, trial Judge Nyako found the defendant guilty on counts 2 and 3 of the charge after he had conceded guilt to the accusation.

She declared, “I find him guilty as charged and he is convicted accordingly.”

“I hereby sentence the convicted party to twenty years in prison for each offence. They have to operate in parallel.