Justice Binta Fatima Nyako of the Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two farmers in Borno State, Manle Modu and Bulama Modu Awaye to prison for aiding Boko Haram terrorists in their villages since 2014.
The two farmers, who were prosecuted by the Department of State Services, DSS, on behalf of the Federal Government, were each sentenced to 11 calendar years in prison after pleading guilty to some of the terrorism charges brought against them.
The two convicts are among 48 suspected terrorists lined up for prosecution before Justice Nyako in the mass trial instituted by the Federal Government.
Manle Modu, of Burari village in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State, admitted in court that he was guilty of failing to provide information to federal troops about the deadly activities of Boko Haram members in his village.
Specifically, he admitted that he violated Section 8(1)(b) of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013, by deliberately refusing to report the presence of Boko Haram members in his village to the Federal Government.
His defence that his life would have been in great danger if he had reported the presence of the terrorists to security agencies was rejected by the judge on the grounds that the law on terrorism did not recognise such fears and claims as a justification.
Justice Nyako pronounced him guilty and ordered that he serve 11 calendar years in prison, stating that the activities of the terrorists could have been curbed if a formal report had been made to the appropriate authorities.
However, while considering his plea for leniency, the judge ordered that the 11-year jail term should commence from 2016, when he was arrested and detained.
For his part, Bulama Modu Awaye, of Maitari village in Bama Local Government Area of Borno State, was charged with being a member of Boko Haram, rearing cattle for its members and refusing to provide the Federal Government with information about the presence of the terrorists in his area.
He pleaded guilty to being aware of the terrorists’ presence in his village and failing to report them to the Federal Government.
He said the terrorists entered his village in 2014 and forcibly became part of the community, adding that he could not report them for fear of being killed.
Justice Nyako sentenced him to 11 calendar years in prison, with the prison facility to be determined by the Federal Ministry of Interior.
Having been in detention since 2016 and being a first-time offender, the judge ordered that his 11-year prison term should commence from the date of his arrest by the DSS.