Court awards N150m to families of victims
FROM GODWIN TSA, Abuja
A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday sentenced Mustapha Umar, a self-confessed member of the ravaging Boko Haram sect to life imprisonment with hard labour after pronouncing him guilty of the coordinated bombing of SOJ Plaza in Kaduna occupied by ThisDay, The Moment and The Sun newspapers.
He drove a white Honda Accord car with registration number KADUNA AL 306 MKA with improvised explosive devices into the premises of the Plaza with the intention to detonate the explosives.
Justice Ademola Adeniyi, in his judgment yesterday, also awarded N150 million to the families of the three
people killed in the attack, explaining that their deaths should not go uncompensated.
Justice Adeniyi directed that the money should be forwarded to the committee set up by the President on the resolution of the Boko Haram insurgents for payment.
In arriving at its decision, the court relied heavily on the confessional statement of the accused and his recorded interview which he granted to investigators.
For instance, in the interview, he claimed to be a member Boko Haram. The court further relied on testimonies of the prosecution witnesses, which it held, confirmed the confessional statement.
The court held that the defence of the accused person is a tissue of lies and rejected it
“The accused person’s intention to commit the crime is found in his confessional statement which clearly shows the state of mind of the accused person and how the attack was planned, financed and executed.
“It is beyond doubt that his confessional statement is relied upon to convict him. The evidences of the prosecution witnesses agreed with the confessional statement of the accused person. The evidence of the prosecution witnesses are credible and are relied upon by this court in reaching its decision. The prosecution has proved his case against the accused person.
“I therefore find the accused person, a self-confessed member of Boko Haram guilty of the charge against him. Accordingly, he is convicted for acts of terrorism contrary to Section 1 [2] of the Terrorism Protection Act, 2011.
“His evil act resulted in the killing of three people while others were seriously wounded. I found the accused person guilty as charged. That is the judgment of this court.
When he was given the opportunity to plead for leniency, Umar maintained that he was innocent of the allegations against him. But his lawyer, Suleiman Nureni appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy and to consider the fact that the accused is the breadwinner of the family including his aged parents. In addition, the lawyer said his client committed the act out of youthful exuberance.
But the trial Judge, Adeniyi, said taking into consideration all the evidence placed before the court and the fact that the accused did not show any remorse, he has no choice but to sentence him to life imprisonment with hard labour.
“The accused did not show any remorse for his evil acts which claimed three souls. Happily, the damage of his action was minimized, but three souls were involved. Human life must be sacred and no one has the right to take another person’s life. For the accused person to commit this crime and then come to court to say he was just walking past when the blast took place is the most insensitive thing to say.
“The three souls lost demand justice and must get justice. The convict does not have the right to take the law into his hands. He should be removed from the public so that he will not kill more souls.
“ I hereby sentence him to life imprisonment with hard labour in accordance with Section 33 [1] of the TPA, 2011.
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