The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced three men to life imprisonment over their involvement in the mass abduction of pupils and teachers from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Salim Ibrahim ordered that the life sentences should take effect from the date the convicts were arrested.
The convicted men were identified as Abdulrazak Umar (also known as Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (Yunusa bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (Abu Itisar), all reportedly from the Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State.
The trio was arraigned on a 10-count charge bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, concealment of information, incitement, and illegal mining.
The federal government accused them of belonging to Darul Salam, an affiliate of Jamaatu Asarul Muslima Fi Bilandis Sudan (Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organization in Nigeria.
Prosecutors alleged the defendants, along with others still at large, conspired between January and May 2026 to commit acts of terrorism and kidnap pupils and teachers from schools in Oyo State.
The defendants pleaded guilty to charges of concealing information about the masterminds of the kidnapping. The convicts also admitted to being members of Darul Salam during proceedings before the court, and the first and third defendants pleaded guilty to providing training, issuing instructions, and using a WhatsApp group to incite members to commit acts of terrorism.
One of the convicts also admitted to illegally mining gold in streams located in Chaza, Suleja Local Government Area of Niger State, without lawful authorization.
On May 15, gunmen invaded Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School in the Esiele and Yawota communities of Oriire LGA, abducting 46 people comprising 39 pupils and seven teachers.
The raid turned deadly: the assistant headmaster of L.A. Primary School, Joel Adesiyan, was killed while attempting to escape during the raid, while a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was killed by his abductors.
The abduction sparked nationwide outrage and renewed concerns over the safety of schools, and reports indicate the victims were held for close to two months before their eventual rescue.
Before sentencing, defence counsel appealed to the court for leniency. Counsel for the defendants pleaded with the court to sentence them on liberal terms, arguing that they were first-time offenders and had pleaded guilty, which showed remorse.
He added that they were married men who had children and had aged parents who were dependent on them. The court, however, proceeded to hand down the maximum custodial sentence available under Nigerian law short of death.
The Oriire case has since expanded into a broader reckoning with the Ansaru network. Just days earlier, the same court sentenced two senior commanders, Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, described as the self-proclaimed Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to a 32-count charge tied to the same insurgent network.
That sentencing has proven controversial: the Department of State Services rejected the sentence as inadequate, alleging that two teachers abducted during the Oriire incident were beheaded by their captors, and says it will appeal for the death penalty.
The case has also drawn calls for broader accountability, with a retired two-star general, Ishola Williams, backing Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde’s call for an independent international investigation into the abduction and eventual rescue of pupils and teachers.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
Three men, Abdulrazak Umar, Yunusa Musa, and Shamsu Adamu Sani, have been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Federal High Court in Abuja for their roles in the Oriire school abduction, a Boko Haram/Ansaru-linked attack that saw 46 pupils and teachers kidnapped and two people killed.
While the convictions mark a step toward justice, they’ve also exposed tension over whether Nigeria’s response to terrorism is tough enough; the DSS is already pushing to appeal similar life sentences given to Ansaru commanders in the same case, arguing the punishment doesn’t match the brutality of the crime, including the alleged beheading of two teachers.
The case remains far from closed, with masterminds still at large and calls growing for an independent investigation into how the abduction and rescue were handled.
