Five men have been jailed for kidnapping a female journalist in Adamawa state.
They were convicted and sentenced by a high court in Yola for kidnapping one Mrs Amra Ahmad Diska back in 2021 and collecting ransom before releasing her.
The court, presided over by Justice Danladi Mohammed, handed a life sentence to three of the men, Muhammad Habib Maki, Barde Usman, and Umar Mammanjoda, for their leading role in the kidnapping of the female journalist, who is a staff member of the state-owned radio house, Adamawa Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Yola.
The court also sentenced one other person, Umar Abubakar, to 10 years in prison or a fine of one million naira. Similarly, Husseini Hamman was also sentenced to five years imprisonment without the option of a fine.
According to the court, Husseini got only five years behind bars because, on the day of his arraignment with the other four, he pleaded guilty to the offences and made his trial easier for the court.
Umar Abubakar, on the other hand, was handed a 10-year sentence for abatement as he was the one who furnished other convicts with information about the victim.
According to the facts of the case, the five convicts and Dogo Chongel Pullori and two others still at large conspired and, armed with guns, invaded the house of Ahmad Isa Mbamba at Mbamba in Yola South Local Government Area on May 4, 2021, and abducted his wife, Amra Ahmad Diska.
The convicts did not release her until after seven days when the family was able to raise the four million naira ransom they demanded.
Five out of the eight suspected kidnappers were later arrested and arraigned before the court on October 7, 2021.