A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Boko Haram member Alkali Yarima, popularly known as La’ari, to death by hanging for orchestrating deadly 2015 terrorist attacks on Maiduguri.
Delivering the judgment on Friday, Justice James Omotosho convicted Yarima on a severe seven-count terrorism charge filed just a month earlier by the Federal Government.
The capital punishment ruling stemmed from count seven, which directly tied Yarima to the violent assault on the Borno State capital under the Terrorism Prevention Act.
Beyond the death sentence, Justice Omotosho handed down a life imprisonment term after finding the convict guilty of receiving specialized weapon training abroad for terrorist acts.
The court further penalized Yarima with an additional 35 years for count one, 30 years for count five, and 10 years each for counts two, three, and four.
According to the prosecution led by Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, the Borno State native had actively operated within the ranks of the outlawed Boko Haram group between 2009 and 2015.
State attorneys established that Yarima originally bought into the radical “Da’awah” teachings of the late Boko Haram founder, Mohammed Yusuf, prior to his capture.
The landmark legal proceedings originally kicked off at a special court session in Kainji, Niger State, before being wrapped up at the federal headquarters in Abuja.
