Four individuals accused of being connected to notorious bandit leader Bello Turji have pleaded not guilty to charges of terrorism. The defendants appeared in the Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday to respond to the 11 counts filed against them by the Federal Government.
The accused—Musa Muhammad Kamarawa, Abubakar Hashimu (also known as Doctor), Samuel Chinedu, and Lucky Chukwuma—denied any involvement in terrorist activities. The charges were read to them before Justice Emeka Nwite. Despite eight defendants initially being named in the case, three—including the infamous Bello Turji—remain on the run.
When the case was called in court, only four defendants were present. Justice Nwite inquired about the absence of Bashir Abdullahi, the third defendant on the list.
David Kaswe, the lawyer representing the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), informed the court that Abdullahi was also at large, and he apologized for the oversight. The lawyer requested that Abdullahi be listed as “at large,” and the judge granted the application.
The Federal Government had filed an 11-count charge against the eight suspects, with four of them still on the run. The charges were officially filed on December 16 by M.B. Abubakar, Director of the Department of Public Prosecutions of the Federation.
The defendants include Kamarawa, Hashimu, Chinedu, and Chukwuma, who are numbered as 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 5th defendants, respectively. The remaining four suspects—Bashir Abdullahi, Bello Turji, Aminu Muhammad, and Sani Lawal—are still wanted by the authorities.
