Terrorism: Five sentenced to 25 years in prison for roles in Papiri school abduction

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA — On Thursday, the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted and sentenced five individuals to 25 years in prison for their involvement in the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Mary’s Catholic School in Papiri village, Niger State.

The defendants, two of whom are Nigeriens, admitted assisting terrorists who stormed the school on motorcycles and abducted students and teachers at gunpoint.

Although about 50 students who were taken from their hostels managed to escape, the gunmen reportedly marched over 250 students for days into the Kainji Lake Reserve Forest.

All abducted persons were rescued and reunited with their families on December 24, 2025. An investigation by the Department of State Services (DSS) led to the arrest of the five individuals who pleaded guilty to four terrorism‑related charges filed by the Federal Government. The court delivered its judgment on Friday.

The convicted persons, as named by Justice Binta Nyako, are Yusuf Mohammed (a.k.a. Bature), Goni Ibrahim Bindi (a.k.a. Goni Mutuwa), Sani Tukur (a.k.a. Danladi), Mubarak Ibrahim, and Musa Alhaji Adamu (a.k.a. Gado Banufe).

The convicts admitted that they acted as arms couriers for the gunmen.

The prosecution stated that some of the weapons they transported included 15 AK‑103 rifles and about 1,434 rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition from the Diffa region of the Republic of Niger to Malam Ahmad, a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group based in Borgu LGA, Niger State.

Security operatives found the arms concealed in sacks hidden inside a Volkswagen Golf car.

By doing so, they committed an offence under Section 26(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The court ordered that the car, which was presented as evidence alongside the recovered arms and ammunition, be forfeited to the federal government.

Some of the charges the court found the convicts guilty of read: “That you, Yusuf Muhammad (a.k.a. Bature), adult, male, thirty‑three (33) years old, of Gofanti village, Borgu LGA, Niger State; Goni Ibrahim Bindi (a.k.a. Goni Mutuwa), adult, male, twenty‑three (23) years old, of Awadiri, Diffa region, Republic of Niger; Sani Tukur (a.k.a. Danladi), adult, male, twenty‑five (25) years old, of Sansani Displaced Persons Camp, Diffa region, Republic of Niger; Mubarak Ibrahim, adult, male, twenty‑eight (28) years old, of Gofanti village, Borgu LGA of Niger State; and Musa Alhaji Adamu (a.k.a. Gado Banufe), between the 23rd and 24th of April, 2026, did commit an offence, to wit: rendered support for the commission of an act of terrorism to a terrorist by agreeing to and conveying fifteen (15) AK‑103 rifles as well as about one thousand, four hundred and thirty‑four (1,434) rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition from the Diffa region, Republic of Niger, on behalf of one Malam Ahmad, a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group based in Borgu LGA of Niger State. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 13(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.

“That you, Goni Ibrahim Bindi (a.k.a. Goni Mutuwa), adult, male, twenty‑three (23) years old, of Awadiri, Diffa region, Republic of Niger; Sani Tukur (a.k.a. Danladi), adult, male, twenty‑five (25) years old, of Sansani Displaced Persons Camp, Diffa region, Republic of Niger; and Musa Alhaji Adamu (a.k.a. Gado Banufe), sometime between the 23rd and 24th of April, 2026, at Kwangila area, along the Kano‑Kaduna Expressway, Zaria, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did commit an offence, to wit: you had in your possession fifteen (15) AK‑103 rifles and about one thousand, four hundred and thirty‑four (1,434) rounds of 7.62 mm live ammunition, carefully concealed in sacks containing dried fish loaded in a blue Volkswagen Golf 3 car with Republic of Niger registered plate number BT 9990 DA. You thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 27(1)(a)(i) and (b)(ii) of the Firearms Act, CAP F28 LFN, 2004.

“That you, Yusuf Muhammad (a.k.a. Bature), adult, male, thirty‑three (33) years old, of Gofanti village, Borgu LGA, Niger State, sometime between February 2025 and April 2026, did commit an offence, to wit: you had information which you knew or believed to be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution, or conviction of Malam Ahmad, a known terrorist operating in Gandu forest, Borgu LGA of Niger State, and you failed to disclose such information to law enforcement or security officers. You thereby committed an offence in contravention of Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”

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