A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced a member of Boko Haram, Auwalu Samaila, to death by hanging for terrorism-related offences.
Trial judge, Justice James Omotosho, handed down the verdict after the defendant pleaded guilty to a six-count charge filed against him by the Federal Government.
The judge, in his ruling, held that the convict deserved no leniency, noting his lack of remorse despite the gravity of his crimes.
“It is when somebody is remorseful and seeks forgiveness from God that he can have mercy,” Omotosho said, adding, “The convict before me is not remorseful despite the atrocities and lives lost through his actions. May God have mercy on his soul.”
Samaila, a native of Gulak in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State, was prosecuted on charges bordering on terrorism between 2012 and 2017.
According to court documents, he admitted membership of Boko Haram, a proscribed organisation, and confessed to undergoing terrorist training, including weapons handling with AK-47 rifles under a commander identified as Yabana.
The prosecution further established that the convict participated in multiple deadly attacks across the North-East, including operations in Damboa, Gombi and Hong, where several civilians and security personnel were killed.
In his confessional statement tendered in evidence, Samaila disclosed that he was involved in conveying female suicide bombers to designated targets.
“I conveyed my first suicide bomber, Halima, to Muna Garage in Maiduguri,” he told the court, adding that he also took part in attacks in Mubi, Chibok, Damaturu, Michika and Gulak.
He further revealed that he lost his left leg during a confrontation with troops in Konduga and was subsequently treated by the sect’s medical team before the limb was amputated.
Justice Omotosho sentenced the defendant to death by hanging on counts relating to his participation in attacks that resulted in loss of lives.
He was also handed 25 years’ imprisonment each on two counts and 30 years on another count.
The offences contravened provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention Amendment) Act, 2013.
Meanwhile, the court also convicted two other Boko Haram members, Shura Abdullahi and Abdulrahman Ari, sentencing them to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.
In separate rulings, three additional defendants — Aisami Kadi, Umaru Usman and Abdulrahman Hassan — were sentenced to various prison terms ranging from 20 to 21 years.
The convictions are part of the ongoing mass trials of suspected terrorists by the Federal Government aimed at addressing insurgency-related crimes, particularly in the North-East region.
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