Court jails bandit leader’s mother, sister 20 years each for terrorism link

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two relatives of slain bandit leader, Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo, to 20 years imprisonment each for offences bordering on aiding terrorism and concealing critical information about his criminal activities.

Justice Hauwa Yilwa delivered the judgment on Friday after the defendants, Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi—identified as Battujo’s mother and sister—pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges filed by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF).

The Department of State Services (DSS) had earlier arrested the duo following investigations into the activities of Battujo, a notorious bandit commander who was killed during a military operation on June 10 in a forest near Iluke, Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Court filings showed that the defendants were accused of receiving funds and providing support linked to the activities of the deceased bandit leader.

Prosecutors alleged that they received ₦490,300 from Battujo, despite being aware that the money was derived from or connected to terrorism-related activities.

They were also accused of accepting financial sponsorship from him for the Holy Pilgrimage (Hajj), with investigators linking the funds to proceeds of criminal enterprises.

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During the trial, the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, Rotimi Oyedepo, applied for the withdrawal of two out of the five initial charges filed against the defendants. The court granted the application and proceeded on the remaining counts, to which both defendants entered guilty pleas.

One of the charges stated that the women aided and abetted Battujo’s operations by relaying information to him through telephone communications.

Another count accused them of deliberately withholding information that could have assisted security agencies in apprehending the bandit leader before he was eventually neutralised.

Prosecutors further told the court that one of the convicts failed to report knowledge of Battujo’s activities to law enforcement authorities, while the other allegedly visited his forest hideout and observed him in possession of firearms but did not alert security agencies.

After evaluating the guilty pleas and the facts presented, Justice Yilwa sentenced each defendant to 20 years imprisonment on the counts they admitted to. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.

The judge also directed that both convicts undergo rehabilitation upon completion of their prison terms.

Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo was one of the notorious bandit commanders operating across parts of Nigeria’s North-West and North-Central regions before he was killed in a targeted security operation earlier this month, according to security sources.