Ali Ndume, a senator from Borno state, who is standing
trial for allegedly sponsoring terrorism, has admitted
that he had contact with the Boko Haram sect.

Speaking at the federal high court, Abuja, on Tuesday,
Ndume said the charges against him were unjust and
unfair since he gave former Vice-President Namadi
Sambo and the then director-general of the
Department of State Service (DSS) the information he
got from the sect.

He said contact with Boko Haram was established
when he was appointed into the presidential committee
on security matters to negotiate for peace with the
group.

He also told the court that the charge of failure to
disclose information on the workings of Boko Haram
could not be sustained against him.

The federal government arraigned Ndume in 2011 and
re-arraigned him in 2013 on a four-count charge of
allegedly sponsoring the sect.

The offence, according to the federal government,
contravened sections 3, 4 and 7 of the terrorism
prevention act 2011.

Ndume, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
When the matter was called on Tuesday for counsel to
adopt their addresses, Ricky Tarfa (SAN), his counsel,
told Gabriel Kolawole, the judge, that the federal
government had not established a prima facie case
against his client.

He also said the government was unable to link
Ndume to the said crime.

Tarfa maintained that the prosecution had failed to
prove beyond reasonable doubt, the charges brought
against him since November 30, 2011.

“Clearly, from the totality of the evidence adduced by
the prosecution, the ingredients of the charges have
not been proved as required by law,” he said.

“The analysis of the mobile phones seized from the
defendant and subjected to forensic examination by
the prosecution did not reveal any offence committed.”

He asked the court to strike out the charges against
Ndume on the grounds that no prima facie case had
been established against him to warrant him defending
himself.

On her part, the prosecuting counsel, Geraldine Okafor,
urged the court to compel Ndume to open his defence
on the grounds that government’s witnesses had
effectively linked him to the crime.

Okafor said that the charges against the senator had
to do with the failure to disclose material information
to security agents on Boko Haram and rendering
support to the group.

She said that Ndume, in his own statement tendered
and admitted in court, confirmed that he had
enormous information on Boko Haram, but refused to
disclose the information to the government.

According to her, credible evidence adduced by the
prosecution witnesses have been corroborated by the
defendant himself in the three statements he made to
security agents.

“His admission that he was a member of the
Presidential Committee on Security Matters also
corroborates the evidence of the prosecution that he
had volumes of information on the terrorist group
which he refused to give to the government,” she said.

“The volume of information found on him was
revealing and warranted his being charged to court.
“The prosecution is not fishing for information but in
law, the defendant has to offer information being a
member of the Presidential Committee on Security
Matters.

“Let the point be made here that witnesses of the
government have by one way or the other linked the
charge against the defendant to him and this court, as
an impartial court, should order the defendant to open
his defence.

“It is even in the interest of the defendant and justice
that this case be heard on its merit, instead of
upholding the no-case submission.”

The judge fixed July 4 for ruling on the matter.

TheCable