Court Sentences Three Nigerians, Two Nigeriens To 25 Years Over Papiri School Attack

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced five persons arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) over their alleged roles in the November 21, 2025 attack on St. Joseph Catholic Church school in Papiri, Niger State, to 25 years’ imprisonment each.

Naija News reports that Justice Binta Nyako handed down the sentence on Thursday after the defendants pleaded guilty to four terrorism-related charges filed against them.

The charges bordered on conspiracy, rendering support for the commission of acts of terrorism, unlawful possession of firearms and failure to disclose information useful to security agencies.

The convicts are Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Bature; Goni Ibrahim Bindi, also known as Goni Mutuwa; Sani Tukur, also known as Danladi; Mubarak Ibrahim; and Musa Alhaji Adamu, also known as Gado Banufe.

Two of the convicts are Nigerien nationals.

They were arrested by DSS operatives on May 31, 2026, at different locations.

The prosecution told the court that the defendants conveyed 15 AK-103 rifles and 1,434 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition from Diffa Region in the Republic of Niger to one Malam Ahmad, alleged to be a member of the Boko Haram terrorist group based in Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State.

During one of the arrests, DSS operatives recovered the rifles and ammunition concealed in sacks loaded in a Volkswagen Golf car.

The recovered weapons and ammunition were tendered before the court as exhibits.

The court also ordered the forfeiture of the Volkswagen Golf car to the Federal Government.

Papiri school attack

The case followed the attack on St. Joseph Catholic Primary and Secondary Boarding School in Papiri, Niger State, on November 21, 2025.

Dozens of gunmen on motorcycles had stormed the school in the early hours of the day, rounding up students and teachers at gunpoint.

About 50 children reportedly escaped during the confusion that followed the attack, while more than 250 students were marched into the Kainji Lake Reserve Forest.

The charges stated that the defendants conspired between April 23 and 24, 2026, to assist a terrorist by conveying the firearms and ammunition.

The prosecution said their actions violated provisions of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, and the Firearms Act.

One of the counts also accused Yusuf Muhammad of failing to disclose information that could have assisted in the apprehension or prosecution of Malam Ahmad, described in the charge as a known terrorist hiding in Gandu Forest, Borgu LGA.

After the defendants pleaded guilty, Justice Nyako sentenced each of them to 25 years in prison.