Amingo Supermarket, Abuja terror Trial, Suspect gets life sentence

Do you still remember Amigo supermarket terrorist case, one of the three Lebanese Talal Ahmed Roda, one of the three Lebanese prosecuted by the Federal overnment in attachment with the armoury discovered in Kano, was on Friday imprisoned for life by an Abuja government High Court.

But the other two suspect persons – the co-owner of Amigo shopping centre, Mustapha Fawaz, and Abdallah Tanini, were set free after the court ruled that the prosecution did not verify the 16-count charge conveyed against them.

The 16-count charge filed against the three accused individuals and two enterprise concerns – Amigo shopping centre and Wonderland Amusement reserve Resort – involved components of terrorism, money laundering and miscellaneous infringements.

In the judgment which continued some hours, fairness Ademola Adeniyi held that the prosecution was not able to verify the terrorism and money laundering facets of the ascribe against any of the accused individuals.

although, the 3rd suspect individual, Roda, who was inhabitant in the house located on No. 3 Gaya street, Kano, where the armoury was discovered in an below ground cell by the State Security Service, was convicted for conspiring to unlawfully import and shop prohibited weapons.

Roda, a Lebanese who was born in Nigeria, was a squatter in the dwelling which was owned by another Lebanese, Abdalhassan Tahir, an in-law to Fawaz, the 1st suspect person.

Justice Ademola held that the prosecution offered ample clues to prove that Roda conspired with Tahir, who is currently at large, to trade and shop the tools for fighting in the dwelling on No. 3 Gaya street, Kano.

furthermore, Roda had accepted, in statements tendered in court by the prosecution, that he overhauled the tools for fighting, which were retained in coolers in an underground bunker.

expressly, Roda was convicted on enumerations 7 and 9 of the 16-count charge, which accused him of conspiring with his landlord, Tahir, Ghazi Kassim and other ones at large to unlawfully trade and shop the prohibited weapons at No. 3 Gaya Road, Kano.

The said tools for fighting include 21 rocket propelled grenades with chargers, one rocket propelled grenade launcher, 16 RPC chargers, four landmines, 11 anti rockets (16mm), two mortars (81mm), 76 military type hand grenades, 17 AK47 rifles, 10,921 pieces of AK47 ammunition and nine PPK pistols.

other ones are one PPK pistol magazine, one sub-machine cannon, 103 parcels of TNT slabs each encompassing three parts TNT, 334 ammunition, 80 parts of explosives initiators, 18 hand grenades, two improvised explosive devices, and four parts of Walter IPK launchers.

enumerations 7 and 9 – on which Roda was convicted – which worried the illegal importation and storage of the prohibited weapons, are infringements contrary to part 1 (14)(a)(i) of Miscellaneous Offence proceed, hat M17, LFN 2004, both of which appeal life sentences.