In what is the first conviction under the amended Terrorism Prevention Act of 2011, Mustapha Umar, the member of the Boko Haram member who confessed to have been involved in the bombing of SOJ Plaza in Kaduna State (occupied by ThisDay, The Moment and The Sun Newspapers) on 26th April 2012 has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
At the end of the trial before a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday by Justice Ademola Adeniyi, Umar was pronounced guilty of the one-count charge of terrorism, having driven a white Honda Academy car with registration number AL 306 MKA with improvised explosives devices into the plaza with the intention to detonate improvised explosive devices within the premises. Three people died in the attack while several others were injured.
Although the convict initially pleaded not guilty during his trial, the court relied on a recorded interview during his interrogations where he admitted membership of Boko Haram. Ten other Police witnesses involved in the investigation testified against him.
The prosecution argued for a straight death sentence on the strength of Section 4 (2) of the Terrorism Act, but the court declined after observing that the convict was charged against Section 1 of the Terrorism Prevention Act, which stipulates life sentence upon conviction.
Noting the accused’s lack of remorse for his actions throughout the trial, the court found his reason for attacking ThisDay newspaper — denigration of Prophet Mohammed — as untenable.
The defence lawyer pleaded for leniency because the convict is a youth whose family and aged parents depend on for livelihood. But the court shunned this argument to pronounce on him a life sentence with a fine of N150m to families of victims of the terror act, which will be paid by the committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan on peaceful resolution of Boko Haram problems in the country.
Justice Adeniyi also commended the Nigeria Police Force for its expertise and professionalism during the trial, which significantly influenced the depth of prosecution by the team of lawyers led by Mr. Shuaibu Labaran, a senior state counsel from the Ministry of Justice.
