Boko Haram members jailed for 15 years over his role in the abduction of the Chibok girls

BOKO Haram member Haruna Yahaya has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by a federal high court in Niger State over his role in the abduction of the Government Girls secondary School Chibok pupils in 2014.

In April 2014, Boko Haram kidnapped 219 girls from their boarding school in Chibok in Borno State and whisked them off into captivity. Some of the girls have since been released but dozens of them still remain in the hands of Boko Haram, which claims that they chose to stay voluntarily, having been married to some of its commanders.

Earlier today, the Federal High Court sitting in Wawa Cantonment, Kainji, in Niger State sentenced 35-year-old Haruna Yahaya for terrorism offences over his role in the kidnapping. Mr Yahaya, whose left arm and left leg are crippled, was convicted for being a member of the proscribed Boko Haram terrorist group and participating in the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls in Chibok.

He was said to have participated in the group’s attacks in Chibok and Gabsuri town in Damboa Local Government Are of Borno State. Mr Yahaya had pleaded guilty to the two counts preferred against him by the federal government but pleaded for mercy, saying he was forcefully conscripted into the terrorist group.

However, the judge who sat in one of the four special courts established to fast track the trial of over 1,000 suspects, said the court was not fooled by his story. In its ruling, the court noted the convict was using the misfortune of his handicap to draw sympathy.