By Sanni Abdullahi
ABUJA— A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday handed down a 20-year prison sentence to Muhammad Sani for terrorism-related offences after finding him guilty of deliberately concealing information about a notorious bandit leader, Danranmi.
Delivering judgment, Justice Nwite ruled that Sani violated provisions of Nigeria’s Terrorism Prevention Act by withholding intelligence that could have led to Danranmi’s arrest. The court held that his inaction directly contributed to the bandit’s escape and continued operations.
Justice Nwite ordered that the 20-year jail term take effect from January 11, 2023, the date of Sani’s arrest by security operatives. He will serve the sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
According to court records and prosecution submissions, security agencies had traced Danranmi to an area where Sani had knowledge of his movements. Prosecutors argued that instead of reporting the information, Sani chose to shield the bandit, thereby enabling further criminal activity in communities already devastated by banditry.
“Safeguarding a person reasonably suspected of committing acts of terrorism is itself an act of terrorism under our laws,” Justice Nwite said in his ruling.
“The failure to volunteer information to security agencies when you have it makes you complicit in the violence that follows.”
Danranmi has been named in multiple security reports as one of the bandit leaders linked to kidnappings, attacks on rural communities, and highway robberies across parts of North-West and North-Central Nigeria.
While the bandit remains at large, authorities say intelligence provided by community members has been critical in tracking and neutralizing several of his associates in recent months.
The conviction is the latest in a broader federal push to target not only armed bandits and terrorists, but also the network of individuals who support, finance, or conceal them.
Over the past two years, the government has intensified prosecutions under amended terrorism laws that impose stiff penalties for harboring suspects and failing to report suspicious activities.
The 20-year sentence sends a clear message to communities where silence has often protected criminal elements. “The law now recognizes that terrorism thrives where there is concealment,” said a senior prosecutor who worked on the case. “This judgment reinforces the obligation of citizens to cooperate with security agencies.”
Human rights groups have previously raised concerns about due process in terrorism trials, but in this case the court found that Sani was duly arraigned, represented, and given opportunity to present his defense before conviction.
Officials at the Kuje Correctional Centre confirmed they have received the committal warrant and that Sani will begin serving his term immediately, with time already served since 2023 to be credited.
The Ministry of Justice described the judgment as part of ongoing efforts to dismantle the support structures that sustain banditry across the country.
In a statement, the ministry urged Nigerians to report suspicious movements to the nearest security formation, stressing that “those who shield criminals will face the full weight of the law.”
Security experts note that while kinetic operations against bandit camps continue, convictions like Sani’s are increasingly being used as a tool to disrupt logistics, safe havens, and local networks that allow armed groups to operate with impunity.
The case has drawn attention in Abuja legal circles as one of the clearest applications of the “failure to disclose” provision in Nigeria’s anti-terrorism framework, a clause that places responsibility on individuals who come into possession of actionable intelligence.
With the sentence now in effect, authorities say they will continue to pursue both principal actors and enablers in the fight against terrorism and banditry nationwide.
