FG warns landlords renting properties to terrorists; collaborators face 20-year jail term

The Federal Government has warned landlords who rent out their properties to terrorists, as well as individuals who host preparatory meetings with terrorist groups, that they risk prosecution under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022. Mijinyawa Zakari, a director in the Legal Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA), gave the warning on Tuesday in Abuja during a press briefing on the recently concluded 11th phase of the trial of terrorism suspects.

Zakari said the law criminalised several activities associated with terrorism, including preparatory offences and providing material or financial support to terrorist groups. He explained that providing support to terrorism attracted a minimum prison sentence of 20 years, while knowingly renting properties to terrorists was also a prosecutable offence.

“A careful reading of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022, will indicate that Sections 11 to 33 provide for a wide range of offences, including preparatory offences,” he said. According to him, the government’s strategy is to strengthen its response to terrorism by targeting not only direct perpetrators but also individuals and organisations that facilitate their activities.

“The strategy is to ensure that there is dominance across all fields. When you talk about collaborators, you deal with what the investigation has revealed. “For example, providing support to terrorism attracts a minimum sentence of 20 years. Renting your property to a terrorist is also an offence. “You may not have a clear-cut act of terrorism or a harmful act, but all those actions, including holding a preparatory meeting with a terrorist group, constitute offences,” he said.

Zakari urged Nigerians, particularly journalists and other stakeholders, to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the law to understand the range of activities classified as terrorism-related offences. He also warned companies against receiving funds linked to terrorism, saying they could face severe sanctions regardless of whether the money was eventually used to commit a terrorist offence.

He said a company found guilty of receiving terrorist financing could be fined N200 million, while its principal officers could face prosecution and the company itself could be wound up. “That is why there is a need for increased awareness of what constitutes a terrorist offence in Nigeria. Reading those sections will really help us,” he said. He encouraged journalists and other stakeholders to obtain copies of the Act and study its relevant provisions to better understand the government’s counter-terrorism strategy.

Zakari added that the government was strengthening its investigative capacity to ensure that more individuals and organisations involved in terrorism financing and other forms of support were brought to justice.