Mastermind of the Christmas day bomb blast that killed about
44 persons and wounded 75 others at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church, Madalla,
Niger State, in 2011, Kabiru Umar, alias Kabiru Sokoto, was yesterday,
sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
Delivering his judgement, the presiding judge, Justice
Adeniyi Ademola, said he was satisfied that the Federal Government,
successfully established the culpability of the convict beyond every reasonable
doubt, noting that Umar had in two earlier separate confessional statements,
admitted that he had prior knowledge of the attack.
Besides, the court stressed that the accused person,
throughout the trial, never showed any remorse for his actions, describing him
as “a pathological liar with no regards for the truth.”
The court observed that the convict had in a statement he
voluntarily made on January 14, 2012, shortly after he was arrested, confessed
that he was a key member of the Boko Haram terrorist group.
Justice Adeniyi read a portion of the said statement where
the convict stated thus, “here in Abaji, nobody knows that I am a Boko Haram
member, much so, I have about 500 children that I teach Quran”, adding that
‘Sokoto’, on page four of his statement, confessed that under his supervision,
“the Madalla church bombing was carried out by one Bashir Mohammed, Muhktar
Kafanchan and others who I cannot remember their names now.”
The court further noted that one of the eight Boko Haram
members the accused gave AK-47 rifles and directed to bomb police stations and
other government agencies in Sokoto State, exposed the operations of the sect
and fingered ‘Kabiru Sokoto’ as the person in charge of the coordination of
bomb attacks after he was caught by a team of policemen during a shoot out.
Likewise, the Judge, observed that Umar, had in his evidence
before the court, admitted that he not only obtained four credits in the West
African School Certificate Examination, WASCE, but was also a laboratory technician by profession, but feigned that he
did not understand the English Language during trial.
“This court finds that the accused person was economical
with the truth right from the beginning of this trial when he claimed that he
does not understand English. The accused person was not a credible witness.
“The prosecution has proved its case beyond every reasonable
doubt. Accordingly, the accused person is guilty as charged under count one of
the amended charge. This court states categorically that going by the
confessional statements of the accused person, his testimony before the court
and that of the witnesses, he was the mastermind of the terrorist attack at St
Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger state.
“The evidence against him was unequivocal, positive and
direct. This attack was carried out on a Christmas day, a day both Christians,
Muslims and even Jews celebrate all over the world. For a person to have a
sinister motive on that kind of day is highly condemnable.
The accused person showed no remorse throughout the trial. I
also take cognizance of the fact that his character did not depict a person who
is sincere to the truth.
“In the final analysis, I find you Kabiru Umar alias Kabiru
Sokoto, guilty and I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment in count one and
10 years in count two. Both sentences are to run consecutively, one after the
other,” the judge held.
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