The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a farmer from Borno State, Malam Mele Modu, to 10 years in prison for failing to report Boko Haram activities to security agencies.
Modu, a father of eight from Abara village in the Bara Local Government Area of Borno State, was convicted on Friday after admitting that he failed to provide information that could have helped security agencies arrest and prosecute members of the terrorist group.
He was among 47 suspected terrorists prosecuted by the Federal Government before Justice Binta Nyako.
The farmer faced four charges, including membership of Boko Haram, supporting the group by harvesting beans for its members and concealing information about its activities. He denied three of the charges but pleaded guilty to failing to provide information to the authorities.
During proceedings, Modu told the court he feared the terrorists would kill him if he reported them. However, the court rejected his defence, ruling that it did not excuse his failure to report their activities under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2013.
His lawyer, Dauda Hassan, also argued that his client had acted out of fear, but the defence was unsuccessful.
Justice Nyako sentenced Modu to 10 years in prison for violating Section 8(1)(b) of the Act. The sentence is to run from 2016, when operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) arrested him.
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