Four people have been given 45 years in prison apiece by the Bauchi High Court 1.
They were found guilty of a three-count felony that included kidnapping, robbery, and criminal conspiracy.
Abdullah Abubakar, Ismail Musa, Usman Isah, and Umar Abdullahi, the four offenders, were found guilty and given sentences by Justice Rabi Umar, the state’s chief judge.
The suspects stormed the homes of Alh Bashir Bukar and Alh Sha’aban Mohammed of Rimin Zayam in Toro Local Government Area of the state in 2018 at around 1:30 in the morning, according to the prosecution’s attorney, Barr. A.S. Gumba, who earlier testified in court.
In addition to kidnapping the son of Bukar and the daughter of Mohammed and taking them to an unidentified location, he claimed that both victims had been robbed of cash and other valuables totaling N1 million.
The accused eventually demanded and obtained N1.4 million in ransom from the two victims, according to the prosecution, before freeing the hostages.
They broke Sections 4(1) of the Kidnapping, Theft of Cattle and Rape (Special Provision) Law, 2017, Section 3(2) of the same law, and Section 1(2) of the Robbery and Firearms Special Provisions Act LFN 2004. According to Justice Umar, who delivered the ruling on Wednesday.
“That you, Abdullah Abubakar, were found guilty and hereby sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for the offenses of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery and kidnapping with effect from January 1, 2019.
“That Ismail Musa was found guilty and hereby sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for the offenses of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping with effect from January 1, 2019.
“You, Usman Isah hereby found guilty and sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for the offenses of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping, with effect from January 1, 2019.
“And that you, Umar Abdullahi, were also found and sentenced to 45 years imprisonment for offenses of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, and kidnapping, with effect from January 14, 2019,” said the chief judge.