The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday sentenced two women arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for their involvement with terrorism to forty years in prison.

The convicted women, Safiya Salihu and Halima Abdullahi, are the mother and sister, respectively, of the terrorist kingpin Kachallah Ibrahim Battujo. Battujo was eliminated by Nigerian security forces on June 10, 2026, following a failed mass abduction and attack on students writing WAEC exams in a forest near Iluke in Kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State.

Justice Hauwa Joseph Yilwa handed the sentences after both women pleaded guilty to Counts 2, 4, and 5 of the five-count terrorism-related charge brought against them by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. While the statutory punishment for each of the convicted counts is 20 years, Justice Yilwa ordered that the sentences run concurrently, after which the convicts will undergo rehabilitation.

Both women escaped conviction on Counts 1 and 3, which bordered on receiving N490,300 from Battujo, fully aware it was the proceeds of terrorism, as well as a sponsored holy pilgrimage funded by the same proceeds. The Director of Public Prosecution, Oyedepo Rotimi, SAN, urged the court to strike out both counts but convict them on the remaining charges.

The details of the first count stated that Halima Abdullahi and Safiya Salihu, adult females of Dungun Muaza in Sabuwa LGA of Katsina State, committed an offense sometime in 2026 by receiving the sum of four hundred and ninety thousand, three hundred Naira (N490,300) from Battujo. The charge noted they reasonably ought to have known the sum formed part of the proceeds of terrorism, thereby committing an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 21 of the Terrorism (Prevention Prohibition) Act, 2022.

According to the second count, both women aided and abetted the activities of Battujo, a known bandit kingpin. They committed an offense by passing information through telephone conversations to the said Battujo, an act contrary to and punishable under Section 26 of the Terrorism (Prevention Prohibition) Act, 2022. Both the mother and sister pleaded guilty to this charge.

The third count alleged that the two women committed an offense when they received sponsorship to travel for the Hajj Pilgrimage from the bandit kingpin. The charge stated they received funds they reasonably ought to have known formed part of terrorism proceeds, an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 21 of the Terrorism (Prevention Prohibition) Act, 2022.

The fourth count detailed that Safiya Salihu committed an offense by concealing information about the activities of Battujo. The charge stated that when she visited his forest camp and saw him in possession of firearms, she acquired information that she knew to be of material assistance in securing his apprehension. Her failure to disclose such information to any law enforcement or security officer as soon as reasonably practicable constituted an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention Prohibition) Act, 2022.

Finally, the fifth count outlined that Halima Abdullahi committed a similar offense by concealing information about the activities of the suspected bandit kingpin. The charge noted that she held information she knew to be of material assistance in securing his apprehension but failed to disclose it to law enforcement or security officers as soon as reasonably practicable. This failure to report constituted an offense contrary to and punishable under Section 16 of the Terrorism (Prevention Prohibition) Act, 2022.