A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced the mother and sister of notorious bandit kingpin, Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo to a combined 40 years in prison for aiding his terrorist operations and concealing critical information that could have helped security forces apprehend him. 

The convicted women, identified as Halima Abdullahi, Battujo’s mother, and Safiya Salihu, his sister, both pleaded guilty to terrorism-related charges and were sentenced on Friday, June 19, 2026, by Justice Hauwa Joseph Yilwa.

The court found that both women had actively aided and abetted Battujo’s criminal activities by passing information to him through telephone conversations. Safiya Salihu, the sister, received an additional conviction for concealing information about her brother’s possession of firearms, which she witnessed firsthand during a visit to his forest camp, an interesting information she never disclosed to any security or law enforcement agency.

The charges were brought against them by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation following their arrest by operatives of the Department of State Services in February 2026.

Out of a five-count terrorism charge, both women were convicted on three counts. Two other counts alleging that they received ₦490,300 in proceeds of terrorism from Battujo, and that they undertook a Hajj pilgrimage funded with money linked to his criminal activities were struck out at the request of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Following a plea for leniency by their lawyer, Dauda Hassan of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, who cited their ages and status as first-time offenders, Justice Yilwa ordered that the sentences run concurrently and take effect from February 2026, the date of their arrest.

This means both women will effectively serve 20 years each.

Battujo himself had been eliminated by Nigerian security forces on June 10, 2026, just nine days before his family members were sentenced, during a military operation in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State. His death and the subsequent sentencing of his relatives marks a significant development in Nigeria’s ongoing battle against banditry and terrorism in the North-Central and North-West regions.