Court jails terrorist kingpin’s mother, sister for 20 years each

A Federal High Court in Abuja has handed down a 20-year prison sentence to Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi, who were convicted of terrorism-related offenses. The prosecution revealed that the two women are the mother and sister of Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo, a notorious bandit leader who was killed by security forces on June 10th.

Battujo was reportedly responsible for orchestrating the recent attack on Government Secondary School in Iluke, Kogi State. His death was confirmed by the Kogi State Government following a coordinated security operation involving the military, police, and the State Security Service (SSS). The operation was launched after intelligence linked Battujo's group to attacks and attempted abductions in the region.

During the court proceedings, Ms. Salihu and Ms. Abdullahi admitted guilt to charges including aiding and abetting Battujo's activities by relaying information via telephone. Ms. Salihu also pleaded guilty to concealing information about her son's terrorism activities. While they escaped conviction on charges related to receiving proceeds of terrorism and accepting sponsorship for Hajj from illicit funds, the court imposed the significant sentence based on their admitted guilt on the remaining counts.