A Federal High Court on Monday handed down a 20-year prison sentence to Muhammad Sani, a Niger State man who conspired to shield a notorious bandit and arms supplier from security agencies, in a ruling that underscores Nigeria’s tightening crackdown on terrorism financiers and enablers.
Justice Nwite convicted Sani, of Nabi Village in Shiroro Local Government Area, on the first two counts of a four-count terrorism charge brought against him after his arrest by the Department of State Services, DSS. The sentence, delivered without an option of fine, will run from January 11, 2023 — the date of his arrest — and will be served at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
At the centre of the case is Danranmi, described in court papers as a “notorious bandit who supplies arms and ammunition to kidnappers and bandits in and around Niger State.” Danranmi remains at large.
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Prosecutors told the court that on or about January 9, 2023, in Lafia, Nasarawa State, Sani conspired with the fugitive to conceal his identity and activities from law enforcement — information that could have led to Danranmi’s arrest. Sani failed to alert any security agency, in breach of Nigeria’s Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.dss
The remaining two counts pinned a chilling transaction on Sani: the receipt of ₦580,000 from Danranmi to procure 150 rounds of ammunition from a supplier known only as “Chairman” — ammunition prosecutors said Sani had every reason to believe would be used to fuel further attacks.
He was charged under Sections 16(1)(b), 21 and 26(1) of the 2022 anti-terrorism law, which criminalises both the concealment of terrorism-related intelligence and the financing or facilitation of terrorist acts.
The conviction lands at a moment when security agencies are widening their net beyond gunmen in the bush to the informants, financiers and quiet enablers who keep the banditry economy alive across Nigeria’s North West and North Central.
“The conviction is part of ongoing efforts by security agencies to prosecute those who enable banditry and terrorism financing by withholding useful intelligence around the country,” a security source said.
For communities across Shiroro and neighbouring LGAs that have borne the brunt of mass abductions and rural raids, the message from the Abuja courtroom is unambiguous: silence, in the eyes of the law, is now a crime with a two-decade price tag.
Crediblenewsng.com
