A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a father of eight, Malam Mele Modu, to 10 years in prison for failing to report the activities of Boko Haram members to security agencies in Borno State.
Modu, from Abara village in Borno State’s Bara Local Government Area, was convicted on Friday after admitting that he failed to provide information that could have aided the arrest and prosecution of the terrorists.
He was among 47 suspected terrorists being prosecuted by the Federal Government before Justice Binta Nyako.
The convict faced a four-count charge bordering on Boko Haram membership, providing support to the group by harvesting beans for its members and concealing information about their activities.
Although Modu denied three of the charges, he pleaded guilty to failing to provide security agencies with information that could have helped curb the group’s activities.
During proceedings, he told the court that fear of being killed by the terrorists prevented him from reporting them. However, the court rejected his explanation, citing provisions of Section 8(1) and (b) of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013.
Efforts by his lawyer, Dauda Hassan, to secure his release on the grounds that he feared for his life were unsuccessful.
Justice Nyako subsequently found Modu guilty of violating the relevant provisions of the terrorism law and sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment.
The court, however, ordered that the sentence should take effect from 2016, the year he was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).