The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced five persons arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for their involvement in the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Joseph Catholic Church, Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years imprisonment each.Justice Binta Nyako handed down the sentence after the five men pleaded guilty to four terrorism-related charges brought against them by the prosecution.The convicts, identified as Yusuf Mohammed (aka Bature), Goni Ibrahim Bindi (aka Goni Mutuwa), Sani Tukur (aka Danladi), Mubarak Ibrahim and Musa Alhaji Adamu (aka Gado Banufe), were arrested at different locations by DSS operatives on May 31, 2026.The charges bordered on support for the commission of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as offences under the Firearms Act.The trial, which concluded shortly after the defendants entered guilty pleas, has been described as one of the fastest terrorism prosecutions in the country’s history.During the proceedings, the prosecution tendered arms and ammunition recovered from the suspects. In one of the operations leading to their arrest, DSS operatives recovered 15 AK-47 rifles and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition concealed in sacks inside a Volkswagen Golf car.Justice Nyako subsequently ordered the forfeiture of the vehicle to the Federal Government.The attack for which the convicts were prosecuted occurred in the early hours of November 21, 2025, when dozens of armed men riding motorcycles invaded the Catholic Primary and Secondary Boarding School in Papiri, Niger State.The gunmen rounded up students and teachers at gunpoint before marching more than 250 students into the Kainji Lake Reserve Forest. About 50 of the children managed to escape during the confusion that followed the attack.
Five Convicted Over Papiri School Kidnap Jailed 25 Years
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced five persons arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for their involvement in the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Joseph Catholic Church, Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years imprisonment each.Justice Binta Nyako handed down the sentence after the five men pleaded guilty to four terrorism-related charges brought against them by the prosecution.The convicts, identified as Yusuf Mohammed (aka Bature), Goni Ibrahim Bindi (aka Goni Mutuwa), Sani Tukur (aka Danladi), Mubarak Ibrahim and Musa Alhaji Adamu (aka Gado Banufe), were arrested at different locations by DSS operatives on May 31, 2026.The charges bordered on support for the commission of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, as well as offences under the Firearms Act.The trial, which concluded shortly after the defendants entered guilty pleas, has been described as one of the fastest terrorism prosecutions in the country’s history.During the proceedings, the prosecution tendered arms and ammunition recovered from the suspects. In one of the operations leading to their arrest, DSS operatives recovered 15 AK-47 rifles and 1,434 rounds of live ammunition concealed in sacks inside a Volkswagen Golf car.Justice Nyako subsequently ordered the forfeiture of the vehicle to the Federal Government.The attack for which the convicts were prosecuted occurred in the early hours of November 21, 2025, when dozens of armed men riding motorcycles invaded the Catholic Primary and Secondary Boarding School in Papiri, Niger State.The gunmen rounded up students and teachers at gunpoint before marching more than 250 students into the Kainji Lake Reserve Forest. About 50 of the children managed to escape during the confusion that followed the attack.
