Double Jeopardy: Court Sentences Boko Haram Victim to 9 Years, However Orders Immediate Release
In a case highlighting the complex legal intersection of terrorism and civilian responsibility, Justice Peter Odo Lifu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has sentenced Ali Kolo, a victim of the Boko Haram insurgency, to nine years imprisonment for failing to report terrorist activities.
However, in a significant ruling on Thursday, the judge ordered Kolo’s immediate release, noting that the convict had already spent over ten years in detention—exceeding the duration of the sentence imposed.
The Case of Ali Kolo: From Victim to Convict
The journey of Ali Kolo began in 2017 when his right leg was shattered by bullets from an AK-47 during a Boko Haram attack in Borno State. Kolo, who was 37 at the time, maintained that he was actually on his way to report the insurgents’ activities to the military when he was ambushed and shot.
Despite his injury, the Federal Government arraigned him on a four-count charge. Kolo eventually pleaded guilty to one count: concealment of information under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013.
The prosecution, led by Mr. David Kaswe, a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Justice, argued that Kolo failed to relay critical intelligence to security agencies. He tendered Kolo’s extra-judicial statements and an investigation report as evidence of this “refusal to help.”
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Judicial Discretion and “Double Jeopardy”
Justice Lifu acknowledged that while Kolo technically failed to report the activities, the failure was born of “circumstances beyond his control,” specifically the life-altering injury he sustained.
While sentencing him to nine years, the judge backdated the term to 2017.
“Keeping him further in prison would amount to double jeopardy,” Justice Lifu held. “The convict has suffered enough and must be released immediately to attend to his injury occasioned by Boko Haram gunshots.”
The judge clarified that Kolo was never found guilty of being a member of the terror group or undergoing weapon training, but strictly of the failure to relay information.
Bricklayer Jailed 10 Years for Concealment.
In a separate judgment, the court sentenced a Borno-based bricklayer, Ibrahim Buba (also known as Baba Gana), to ten years imprisonment for similar charges.
Buba was apprehended in 2023 in Onitsha, Anambra State, where he had fled to work as a bricklayer. During the trial, Buba admitted to knowing two Boko Haram members but claimed he fled through Mubi, Adamawa State, to Onitsha because the terrorists were after his life.
Justice Lifu noted Buba’s guilty plea but stressed the importance of civilian cooperation in curbing insurgency. He sentenced him to ten years, starting from his arrest date of March 24, 2023 rather than the 20-year term requested by the prosecution.
By PRNigeria
