The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men convicted over the abduction of students and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State to life imprisonment.
The convicts, Abdulrazak Umar (also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (also known as Yunusa bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (also known as Abu Itisar), were found guilty of terrorism-related offences linked to the school kidnapping.
The trio were arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) following months of intelligence gathering, surveillance, and coordinated investigations with other security agencies.
They were arraigned on a 10-count charge, which included conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism and the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers.
According to the charge sheet, the convicts, all from Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, conspired with three other suspects—Muhammad Sani, Jibril Mohammed, and Ibrahim Khabab between January and May 2026 to carry out the abduction in Oyo State. The offences were prosecuted under Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The court subsequently convicted the defendants and sentenced each of them to life imprisonment, bringing a major legal conclusion to one of the country’s high-profile school abduction cases.
