Convicted Boko Haram member, Kabiru Umar, popularly known as Kabiru Sokoto, has filed an appeal against his terrorism conviction and life imprisonment sentence at the Abuja division of the Court of Appeal.
The legal move comes over a decade after a Federal High Court found him guilty of masterminding the devastating 2011 Christmas Day bombing.
The tragic attack, which targeted St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger State, resulted in the untimely death of at least 37 worshippers and left dozens of others with severe injuries.
Through his newly appointed legal counsel, Don Akaegbu & Company, Sokoto filed an urgent motion on May 13, 2026, requesting the appellate court to grant him special leave to file his notice of appeal outside the constitutionally mandated 90-day window for criminal matters.
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The defense team argued that the severe delay in seeking an appeal was completely unintentional.
According to court documents, the bottlenecks were caused by Sokoto’s prolonged incarceration, constant transfers across different high-security prison facilities, and the unexpected deaths of two previous defense lawyers who were originally handling his case files.
The legal filing noted:
“The delay was not deliberate but occasioned by circumstances beyond the control of the Applicant.
The prosecution failed to adduce credible and direct evidence establishing that the Appellant committed or facilitated any of the acts of terrorism particularised in the charge.”
In an accompanying affidavit, the convict's nephew, Lawal Suleiman, revealed that Sokoto’s physical and mental health has significantly degenerated during his long-term stay at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Custodial Facility in Lagos.
Suleiman stated that the family even faced frustrating difficulties locating the convict during a routine visit to the facility in March 2026.
The proposed appeal is anchored on 12 distinct grounds.
Sokoto claims the trial judge erred in law by convicting him under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, which he claims is completely unrelated to terrorism.
He was originally arrested in January 2012 at the Borno Governor's Lodge in Abuja, briefly escaped police custody, and was subsequently re-arrested by intelligence operatives in Taraba State.
#KabiruSokoto #MadallaBombing #CourtOf Appeal #BokoHaram #KirikiriPrison #TerrorismTrial #NigeriaSecurity #AbujaLaw
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