By Dare Akogun
Popular kingpin, Hamisu Bala, also known as Wadume, has been convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment without an option of fine.
An Abuja Federal High Court presided by Justice Binta Nyako convicted Wadume of two out of the 13-count charge filed against him and others by the Federal Government.
Specifically, the kidnap kingpin was convicted of escaping from lawful custody and unlawfully dealing in prohibited firearms.
The court also convicted Aliyu Dadje, a police inspector who was the station officer at the police headquarters at Ibi Local Government Area of Taraba State, and sentenced him to three years imprisonment, for tampering with records in a bid to conceal crime.
Besides Wadume, other defendants in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/30/2020 are: Aliyu Dadje (a police inspector), Auwalu Bala (aka Omo Razor), Uba Bala (aka Uba Delu), Bashir Wazlri (aka Baba Runs), Zubairu Abdullahi (aka Basho) and Rayyanu Abdul.
The judge also sentenced Delu, Abdullahi and Abdul to seven years imprisonment.
However, Omo Razor and Baba Runs were discharged and acquitted for want of evidence. Justice Nyako’s judgment was delivered on July 22 but made available to journalists on Sunday.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) prosecuted Wadume and others over charges bordering on kidnapping, murder, terrorism and illegal possession of arms.
The charges followed the killing of three police officers and two civilians on August 6, 2019, by some soldiers.
The police officers, who were from the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Abuja, had arrested Wadume at Ibi before they were ambushed on the road by the military men.
Justice Nyako in the judgment upheld the case of the prosecution team, which included Yetunde Cole and Labaran Magaji, as it relates to five out of the seven defendants.
