Five alleged masterminds of the bomb blasts that rocked Kuje and Nyanya towns in Abuja on October 2, 2015, were arraigned on Thursday before the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court.
The accused persons docked on a five-count terrorism charge were: Abdulazeez Muhazab, Ishaka Salihu, Mohammed Jimoh, Abdulwaheed Nasiru and Abdullahi Nasiru.
After they took turns and entered their plea to the charge preferred against them by the federal government, trial judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati ordered that they should be remanded in Kuje Prison.
Meanwhile, one of the accused persons, Abdulwaheed Nasiru, pleaded guilty to count four of the charge, which indicated that it was in his house that items the alleged insurgents used in manufacturing the Improvised Explosive Device, (IEDs) for the bombings were stored.
The prosecution identified the items that were concealed in the accused person’s apartment at Unguwar Ebira, Karmajiji Area, behind Military Cantoment, off Airport Road, Abuja, as 27 pieces of detonators, aluminum powder, hexomine, hydrogene peroxide, sulphur powder, sodium azide plus nitrate, ironIIoxide, soldering wire; sugar and PH litimus paper.
Other IED materials that were stored by the 4th accused person also included sodium carbonate, thermometer, chlorate, filter paper, strings, potassium chlorate, 12 ready-made IEDs and a full bag of fertilizer.
Though Nasiru pleaded guilty to the charge, he however insisted that he was not the owner of the items, saying he never knew that they were going to be used for an act of terrorism.
He told the court that it was his friend that brought the items to his house.
“Walahi no be me get am, na my friend get am,” he told the court.
All the accused persons who were said to hail from Kogi state, are in the age brackets of 20 and 30 years.
Before the charges were read to them, two of the accused persons told the court that they could only understand ‘pidgin English’.
Meanwhile, attached to the charge dated October 21 and signed by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Mr. Mohammed Diri, were the proof of evidence, brief summary of the case, list of witnesses, list of exhibits to be tendered in court and affidavit of completion of investigation by the Police.
Counsel to the accused persons, Mr. Nureni Sulyman did not oppose application for their remand in Prison custody, even as the court fixed November 17 and 24 to commence their trial.
-Vanguard