Six Nigerians convicted in UAE for funding Boko Haram in 2019

Six Nigerians convicted in UAE for funding Boko Haram in 2019

An Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has convicted six Nigerians over alleged funding of Boko Haram.

Two of the convicts, Surajo Abubakar Muhammad and Saleh Yusuf Adamu were sentenced to life imprisonment while the remaining four, Ibrahim Ali Alhassan, AbdurRahman Ado Musa, Bashir Ali Yusuf and Muhammad Ibrahim Isa were handed ten-year imprisonment respectively.

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According to Daily Trust, the accused were charged with funding Boko Haram by facilitating transfers of about USD782, 000.00 from Dubai to Nigeria for alleged terror operations between 2015 and 2016.

Engaging in such an activity is a crime under Article 29, Clause 3 of UAE’s Federal Law No 7 of 2017 with regards to anti-terrorism law.

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The conviction of the six suspects in 2019 was said to have been upheld by the appellate court in the UAE after they lost an appeal earlier filed at a lower court.

While authorities in Nigeria had raised concerns over the source of funds for Boko Haram, this is the probably the first time certain individuals were identified.

It was gathered that almost all the transactions were initiated by two undercover Boko Haram agents who are based in Nigeria from where they were facilitating the funding transactions.

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One of them, Alhaji Sa’idu who is allegedly based in Nigeria, is said to be a senior undercover Boko Haram member responsible for facilitating the group’s access to funds from its sponsors.

Also fingered in some of the transitions is one Alhaji Ashiru, who is said to be “a Nigerian government official” and yet a senior undercover Boko Haram member who facilitated the transfer of misappropriated public funds to the group.

However the families of those affected told Daily Trust that their relatives were most likely deceived in the course of their routine bureau de change transactions to the extent that some of the transactions they facilitated turned out to be for proceeds meant for Boko Haram activities.

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