A Nigerian court has handed life sentences to three men over terrorism offences connected to the abduction of dozens of pupils and teachers in a wave of coordinated attacks on schools in Oyo State in May. Justice Salim Ibrahim imposed the sentences after the defendants admitted guilt on some of the 10 terrorism counts brought against them by the federal government.
Abdulrazak Umar (a.k.a. Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (a.k.a. Yunusa bin Musa) and Shamsu Adamu Sani (a.k.a. Abu Itisar) pleaded guilty to counts four and six. They admitted withholding information about the perpetrators and confirmed their membership of a Boko Haram affiliate, while rejecting allegations that they conspired in the abductions. The judgment follows the rescue by security forces, weeks earlier, of 44 kidnapped pupils and teachers.
Armed groups carrying out mass abductions for ransom have posed a growing security threat in Nigeria, with captives often released only after ransom demands are made. Schools, churches, mosques and isolated communities have frequently been targeted because they are seen as vulnerable.
