By 𝔸bdulrazak Tomiwa

Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the immediate release of a Boko Haram victim, Ali Kolo, who had been in detention for over a decade.

Kolo was originally shot in the leg by insurgents in Borno State while he was attempting to reach the military to report their activities. Despite his intentions, he was eventually charged with failing to disclose information about the terrorist group to security agencies.

During the proceedings, Kolo pleaded guilty to a single count of concealment of information regarding terrorist activities. The prosecution, led by the Federal Ministry of Justice, argued that Kolo failed to relay critical information about the insurgents to the military back in 2017. They presented his extra-judicial statements and an investigation report as evidence to support a conviction under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act.

In his defense, Kolo explained to the court that he was incapacitated after being shot with an AK-47 rifle by the terrorists. He maintained that he was actually on his way to alert the authorities when the attack occurred, leaving him hospitalized and unable to fulfill his legal obligation. His counsel pleaded for leniency, citing that the failure to report was due to extreme circumstances beyond his control.

Justice Lifu acknowledged that while Kolo technically failed to report the activities, the omission was heavily influenced by the life-threatening injuries he sustained. The judge sentenced him to nine years of imprisonment but ruled that the term should count from 2017, the year he was first detained. Since Kolo had already spent more than 10 years in custody, the judge ordered his immediate release.

The court emphasized that Kolo was not convicted for actual terrorism or being a member of a terrorist group, but strictly for the failure to share information. Justice Lifu remarked that the defendant had “suffered enough” and stated that further detention would amount to double jeopardy. He also noted that Kolo required urgent medical attention for the injuries he received during the insurgent attack.

In a separate but related judgment, the court sentenced Ibrahim Buba, also known as Baba Gana, to 10 years in prison. Buba, a bricklayer based in Borno, admitted to knowing two members of Boko Haram but failing to report them to the authorities. Unlike Kolo, Buba fled his home and relocated to several states before being arrested in Anambra in 2023.

Although Buba pleaded for mercy, the court rejected the prosecution’s request for a 20-year term and settled on a 10-year sentence instead. Justice Lifu ordered that Buba’s sentence should take effect from March 24, 2023, which was the date of his initial arrest. This ruling serves as a stern reminder of the legal obligation for citizens to report known terrorist activities.

These two cases highlight the complexities of the justice system in Nigeria’s conflict-ridden regions. While one man was released due to the trauma and time already served as a victim, another was handed a decade-long sentence for his deliberate silence. Both rulings underscore the government’s continued use of the Terrorism Act to penalize the withholding of security information.