Chad sentences 10 Boko Haram members led by Nigerian Mahamat Mustapha to death

CHADIAN authorities have sentenced 10 members of the Nigerian terrorist sect Boko Haram to death after they were found guilty of a double suicide bombing in June that killed 38 people in the capital N’Djamena.

 

Yesterday, a court in N'Djamena sentenced the men in what was the first such trial to take place in the country. All 10 defendants were accused of criminal conspiracy, murder, wilful destruction with explosives, fraud, illegal possession of arms and ammunition, as well as using psychotropic substances.

 

Chad, along with neighbours Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria have all been the targets of attacks by Boko Haram in recent months. Earlier this year the four countries announced a regional force to end the militants’ insurgency that has claimed more than 15,000 lives since 2009 and displaced an estimated 1.5m people.

 

Among the 10 accused is Nigerian national Mahamat Mustapha, also known as Bana Fanaye. According to the Chadian authorities, he masterminded the June 15 suicide attacks that struck a school and a police building in N’Djamena, killing 38 people and injuring more than 100.

 

Shortly after Fanaye’s arrest in late June, Chad’s top prosecutor, Alghassim Kassim, said the suspect was the ringleader of a network smuggling weapons and munitions between Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad. Since the attack, Chad has beefed up security.

 

Following the creation of the new regional force expected to number some 8,700 regional troops and police, a final assault against Boko Haram is expected.  The force missed its end-July launch date amid continuing political divisions among the nations involved, notably over the force’s right to cross-border pursuit.