A convicted member of the Boko Haram sect, Kabiru Umar (also known as Kabiru Sokoto) has accused agents of the federal government of frustrating his efforts to appeal his conviction and sentence.
Mr Kabiru Sokoto was sentenced on December 20, 2013 to life imprisonment by Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court, Abuja in connection with the 2011 Christmas Day bomb blast that killed about 44 persons and wounded 75 others at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State.
In his judgment, Justice Ademola held that he was satisfied that the federal government successfully established the culpability of the convict beyond every reasonable doubt, noting that Umar had in two earlier separate confessional statements, admitted that he had prior knowledge of the attack.
The judge noted that Kabiru Sokoto never showed any remorse for his actions throughout the trial, as he described him (Sokoto) as “a pathological liar with no regards for the truth”.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Sokoto filed a notice of appeal before the Court of Appeal, Abuja.
In a fresh motion on notice filed before the Federal High Court, Abuja by his lawyer, Sheriff Okoh, Kabiru Sokoto alleges that the Comptroller of Prisons and his men have made it impossible for him to access his lawyer, to enable him perfect his appeal process.
No date has been fixed for the hearing of the motion.
