Court jails 2 Nigerians for recruiting terrorists

Two Nigerians, Abdullahi Mustapha Berende and Saheed Adewumi, believed to be members of an Iranian terrorist organization, were yesterday, sentenced to five years imprisonment each by the Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed of the Federal High Court Abuja.

Justice Mohammed said the Prosecution Counsel, Chioma Onuegbu, was able to prove beyond reasonable doubt the Federal Government’s allegations that the convicts were recruiting would-be terrorists.

The Court found the first defendant guilty of all the six-count charge.

The second defendant was convicted on counts five and six of the charge.

The two were sentenced to 5 years’ imprisonment on each count of the charge they were found guilty.
The terror suspects stood trial on a 6-count charge for their alleged involvement in terrorism offences between 2011 and 2012 in the Middle East and Lagos.

The Federal Government had claimed that Abdullahi Mustapha Berende, between September 2011 and December 2012, in Tehran, Iran had supported terrorism acts, involved in training on use of dangerous weapons and firearms with the intent of perpetrating terrorism crimes in Nigeria.

The offence it was learnt ran contrary to Section 5 (1) (a) of Terrorism Prevention Act 2011 and punishable under Section 5(1) same Act.

They were both arrested 2012 and have been in detention.