The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment for concealing information about the alleged masterminds behind the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa and Shamsudin Sani were sentenced on Thursday, July 23, 2026, after pleading guilty to a 10-count charge filed by the Federal Government.
The charges included terrorism-related offences, kidnapping, concealment of information, membership of a proscribed terrorist organization, terrorism-related training and illegal mining.
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The prosecution alleged that the convicts withheld information about the abduction of 39 pupils and seven teachers from three schools in Oriire on May 15, 2026. The victims were rescued on July 10 after 56 days in captivity.
The defendants were also accused of belonging to Darul Salam, described as an affiliate of Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria, and of using a WhatsApp group named “The Oneness of Allah is the Foundation of Peace” for terrorism-related training and instructions.
The convictions mark a significant development in the prosecution of suspects linked to the Oriire abduction, which kept dozens of pupils and teachers in captivity for nearly two months.