A Federal High Court in Nigeria’s Federal Capital territory (FCT) has sentenced a Lebanese to life imprisonment while two others also accused of belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist group were freed.
The sentenced Lebanese, Talal Ahmad Roda had been arrested in Kano where he was in possession of ammunition, and was therefore pronounced guilty of conspiracy.
However — Mustapha Fawaz who owns Amigo Supermarket in Abuja and Wonderland Amusement Park — as well as second accused person Abdallah Thahini were found innocent and consequently discharged and acquitted.
Delivering the judgement, Justice Ademola Adeniyi held that the prosecution failed to provide substantial evidence linking the two other accused persons with the crime.
“The prosecution failed to prove beyond reasonable doubts that the discharged persons are terrorists”, he said, adding that as the Hezbollah military group was never labelled a terrorist group under any Nigerian law, the court could not deem it so.
He equally said certain aspects of the investigation were shoddily conducted, while noting that the prosecution failed by the evidence brought before the court to establish a case of terrorism against the accused persons.
He held that the prosecution was wrong by not producing before the court either of the ammunition recovered from No 3 Gaiya road, Kano or the photographer who took picture pictures of the ammunition.
The three men and the two companies were arraigned by the Federal Government on 29th July 2013 on a 16-count charge of terrorism. While Roda was convicted on Counts 8 and 9 relating to conspiracy, Fawaz, his company and Thahini were acquitted on all the counts.
