BREAKING: Notorious Boko Haram terrorist Abubakar Goni jailed for 30 years
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10/16/20261 min read
A notorious Boko Haram terrorist, Abubakar Goni, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Binta Nyako handed down the sentence on Friday after Goni, a native of Daira village in Gubi Local Government Area of Yobe State, admitted that he knowingly joined the proscribed terrorist group more than 15 years ago.
Goni was prosecuted by the Federal Government on a five-count charge bordering on membership of Boko Haram, receiving training in the use of AK-47 rifles, launching attacks on civilians and looting food belonging to other people to feed members of the group.
He was also accused of carrying out attacks on some communities in Niger Republic before he was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) in 2016.
When the charges were read to him on Friday, Goni admitted being a member of Boko Haram but denied the other allegations against him.
Following his admission, Justice Nyako invoked Section 16(1) of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013, and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.
Earlier, his counsel, Dauda Hassan, had urged the court to temper justice with mercy and impose the minimum sentence, arguing that his client admitted the offence voluntarily without wasting the court’s time.
In consideration of the plea and Goni’s status as a first-time offender, Justice Nyako ordered that the sentence should run from 2016, when he was arrested by the DSS and taken into custody.
The judge also directed the Federal Ministry of Interior to determine the correctional facility where Goni would serve his sentence.