UAE court convicts six Nigerians for sponsoring Boko Haram

Etim Effiong

A United Emirates Court, Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal has convicted 6 Nigerians for funding Nigeria’s terrorist group, Boko Haram.

It was learnt that two of the six suspects, Surajo Abubakar Muhammad and Saleh Yusuf Adamu, bagged life sentences.

Each of the other four, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, AbdurRahman Ado Musa, Bashir Ali Yusuf and Muhammad Ibrahim Isa, were said to be sentenced for 10 years imprisonment each.

Court documents showed that between 2015 and 2016, the convicts were allegedly involved in cash transfers amounting to almost $782,000 to Boko Haram.

They were said to have been tried and and convicted in 2019.

The transactions were facilitated by two undercover Boko Haram agents based in Nigeria. The 2 simply identified as Alhaji Sa’idu and Alhaji Ashiru, with the later alleged to be a Nigerian government official.

But the families of the convicted Nigerians disagreed saying that they had been framed up, noting that their bureau de change business in the UAE was legitimate.

The accused persons were said to have been apprehended between April 16 and 17, 2017, and their homes searched according to the search warrant issued by the National Security Prosecution office dated April 16, 2017.