Justice Gabriel Kolawole of Federal High Court Abuja on Tuesday held that Senator Ali Ndume, accused in 2011 of sponsoring Boko Haram, is not a terrorist. The judge upheld the no-case submission of former majority leader of the senate and dismissed the case.
Mr. Kolawale was of the view that the prosecution failed to establish a prima facie case against Ndume in the four counts anchored on the provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention) Act 2011. Mr. Ndume was on December 12, 2011 arraigned on four counts of terrorism charges after the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation filed the charges on November 30, 2011 against the senator currently representing the Borno South Senatorial District.
The State had alleged a link between Ndume and a suspected member of Boko Haram, Ali Konduga. Konduga had since been convicted and sentenced for terrorism.
Ndume was accused of providing logistics support to the terror group – by providing the sect the phone numbers of top public officers, including the then AGF, for the purpose of sending terrorism messages to them, among other things.
Upholding the defendant’s no-case submission, Justice Kolawole said the prosecution failed to debunk Ndume’s defence in the three extra-judicial statements which the senator made to the Department of State Service that he came in contact with some members of the sect while acting on behalf of the Federal Government in the presidential committee set up to look at the security challenges in the North-East.
The judge also said that the prosecution failed to call Konduga, still serving jail terms , as witness to give evidence as to the period he communicated with Ndume, to assist the court to form a view as to whether the communication between the Senator and Konduga was before or during the time the federal lawmaker was serving on the security committee.
The judge further cited the content of Ndume’s statements where the senator had claimed that, contrary to claim by the prosecution, he had disclosed the information he had about the sect to the then Vice-President and the then Director-General of the Department of State Service.
The judge held that the prosecution failed to call any of the then Vice President and the ex-DG of DSS for the purpose of debunking Mr. Ndume’s claim.
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