Kabiru Umar, also known as Kabiru Sokoto, who was convicted over the 2011 Christmas Day bombing linked to Boko Haram, has earned a Biology degree while serving his prison sentence, his lawyers said in one of the documents shared with PREMIUM TIMES.
In a press statement announcing Mr Sokoto’s appeal against his 2013 conviction, his legal team said he remained committed to “personal growth and rehabilitation” during incarceration, noting that he successfully obtained a Biology degree from the National Open University of Nigeria.
The statement, dated 14 May and signed by Lagos-based law firm Don Akaegbu & Company, described the achievement as evidence of Mr Sokoto’s “continued effort toward self-improvement despite the circumstances.”
Kabiru Sokoto was convicted by the Federal High Court in Abuja on 20 December 2013.
However, his lawyers argued that the charges against him did not specifically accuse him of carrying out or masterminding the bombing of St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State, which killed about 35 worshippers and injured several others on Christmas Day in 2011.
