There are indications that convicted Boko Haram sect member, Kabiru Umar (aka Kabiru Sokoto) is ready to name organisations and individuals he claims to be sponsors of the terrorist group.

Top security officers at Kuje Prisons, Abuja, where he is serving a life sentence, told Nigerian Pilot that Kabiru Sokoto has indicated his willingness to name the sponsors of Boko Haram.

The paper had last Thursday exclusively reported that the convict wrote a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, where he pledged to assist the Federal Government end the activities of Boko Haram.

In the letter written by his lawyer, Sheriff Okoh, Kabiru Sokoto, appealed to President Jonathan to grant him pardon, claiming that he was innocent of the offences for which he was convicted.

One of the security sources said that Kabiru Sokoto had restated his commitment to work with the government to end Boko Haram insurgency by naming the alleged financiers of the sect.

The official said: “Kabiru Sokoto has been saying aloud and telling anyone who cares to listen in prison that he is ready to name the sponsors of Boko Haram. He also wants the government to consider his plea for pardon.”

According to the source, with the latest development, it will be a major breakthrough in the fight against the terrorist group.

He said that as soon as the President considers Kabiru Sokoto’s request, those behind the sect will be exposed.

Umar was convicted on a two-count terrorism charge by a Federal High Court in Abuja on December 20, 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The court found him guilty of facilitating the commission of terrorism acts and concealing information from security agencies on the December 25, 2011 and bombing of St Theresa’s Catholic Church, Mandala, Niger State.

In his letter to President Jonathan, the convict faulted the process leading to his sentencing and had appealed the High Court judgment before the Court of Appeal, Abuja.

The letter to the President read in part: “Your Excellency Sir, an innocent man was convicted by the court on the date aforementioned. It is for this singular reason that we are applying to you for Presidential pardon in the circumstance pursuant to your exclusive legitimate constitutional powers as enshrined in your golden conscience and under Section 175(a) and (b) of the Constitution.

“Your Excellency sir, we are applying for respite and pardon for the convicted felon Kabiru Umar (alias Kabiru Sokoto) because we have absolute faith in your compassion and highest sense of fairness, equity and justice first as a God-fearing man and next, as the leader of the most compassionate nation on earth.

“Your Excellency, we vow to reach out beyond the imagination and work with you in resolving the Boko Haram imbroglio, with the firm belief that no quarrel of brotherhood is eternal. We shall undertake this national task for the pleasure of God Almighty, believing in His divine will for our peaceful, united, symbiotic and mutual coexistence as brothers and sisters under a fair and just leader,” he said.

•Excerpted from Nigerian Pilot. Photo shows convicted terror suspect Kabiru Sokoto.

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