{
  "id": 16115582,
  "title": "Terrorism: Man Bags 40 Years for Spying for Late Benue Militia Leader, Gana",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/22/terrorism-man-bags-40-years-for-spying-for-late-benue-militia-leader",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-22T22:29:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/10/22/terrorism-man-bags-40-years-for-spying-for-late-benue-militia-leader-gana/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a recent court hearing in Abuja, three individuals received varying prison sentences for their involvement in terrorism-related offenses. First, Sunday Frank, a father of ten, was handed a 40-year sentence for spying on and providing information to the late Benue militia leader, Gana, also known as Terwase Akwaza. The charges, brought forth by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, alleged that Frank's espionage spanned Benue and Taraba states and included a kidnapping incident in 2022. Frank pleaded guilty to the charge of providing information but denied the charges of kidnapping and other counts.\n\nSecond, Ali Shaban Hamma was sentenced to 10 years in prison for protecting members of the Boko Haram terrorist group within his Borno community. Hamma admitted to associating with the terrorists and refusing to report them to federal troops for prosecution. His guilty plea was accepted by the court, which deemed it a minimum sentence for the gravity of the offense.\n\nLastly, Paul Okechukwu, a self-confessed member of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), received a 20-year sentence for belonging to the proscribed organization. The charges in the first count alleged that Okechukwu was involved in an attack resulting in the death of two security operatives, while the second count pertained to his membership in IPOB. Okechukwu pleaded not guilty to the second count, which was subsequently dismissed by the court. The prosecutor relied on Section 72 of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022 to seek the admission of a witness from the Department of State Services (DSS) to support the allegations against Okechukwu.",
  "summary": "*Father of 10 sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for protecting Boko Haram members *Another gets 20 years over membership of proscribed IPOB Alex Enumah in Abuja Three individuals bagged various",
  "key_points": [
    "Sunday Frank sentenced to 40 years for spying on Benue militia leader Gana.",
    "Ali Hamma gets 10 years for protecting Boko Haram members in Borno.",
    "Paul Okechukwu receives 20 years for IPOB membership and attack."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}