Kabiru Umar, popularly known as Kabiru Sokoto, has appealed the terrorism conviction handed to him by a federal high court in Abuja, insisting that he was wrongly convicted.
Gatekeepers News reports that Sokoto, who was convicted over terrorism-related offences linked to Boko Haram activities, filed the appeal through his lawyers, Don Akaegbu & Company, at the Abuja division of the court of appeal on May 13, 2026.
According to court documents, the convict argued that he “has consistently maintained his innocence” and wants to exercise his constitutional right to challenge the judgment. He asked the appellate court to overturn the conviction and acquit him of the charges brought against him by the federal government.
Kabiru Sokoto based his appeal on 12 grounds, claiming that the trial court wrongly convicted him under provisions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, which he argued deals with financial crimes rather than terrorism offences.
He also contended that prosecutors failed to establish any direct connection between him and specific terrorist attacks allegedly carried out in Mabira, Sokoto state, between 2007 and 2012. The appeal notice stated that the prosecution “failed to prove the essential ingredients” of the offences beyond reasonable doubt.
Kabiru Sokoto was previously linked to 2011 Christmas Day bombing at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, Niger state, one of the deadliest attacks attributed to Boko Haram in Nigeria.
