ABUJA, Nigeria — The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Sunday Frank to 40 years’ imprisonment for providing intelligence on the movements of security operatives to the late Benue militia leader, Terwase Akwaza, popularly known as Gana.
Justice Hawa Yilwa handed down the sentence on Thursday, October 22, 2026, after Frank pleaded guilty to the fourth count of a four-count charge filed by the Federal Government under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022.
The court ordered that the sentence should run from the date of his arrest in 2022. It also directed that Frank undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation after completing his prison term.
Frank, who hails from Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State, was accused of monitoring the movements of security personnel and relaying the information to Gana, whose activities spanned parts of Benue and Taraba states.
The case was prosecuted by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
According to the prosecution, Frank’s activities involved gathering information on security operations and passing it to the militia leader, potentially exposing security personnel to attacks.
He was also accused of kidnapping a man identified as Samuel in 2022 and holding him hostage until a ransom of ₦40,000 was paid for his release.
However, Frank denied the first three counts, which related to the alleged abduction and other offences, but admitted the fourth count concerning the provision of information to Gana.
Following his guilty plea, Fagbemi applied for the three counts denied by the defendant to be struck out. The court granted the application, leaving the fourth count as the basis for the conviction and sentence.
During the proceedings, the prosecution called a witness who was part of the team that investigated the case. The witness, whose identity was withheld by the court for security reasons and identified only as “AAA”, reviewed the facts surrounding Frank’s arrest and investigation.
The witness told the court that Frank had made oral and written confessions admitting to being a bandit and an informant for Gana. He also alleged that Frank admitted to participating in banditry and the abduction of two people.
The defence counsel, Y. Y. Shullai of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, did not oppose the prosecution’s application to tender Frank’s statement in evidence.
Justice Yilwa admitted the statement as Exhibit A, while the investigation report prepared by the witness’s team was admitted as Exhibit B.
Relying on the guilty plea, the statement and the admitted exhibits, Fagbemi urged the court to convict Frank on the fourth count.
The Attorney-General described the offence as serious, noting that the law prescribed a minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment for the offence in question. He urged the court to impose a sentence of at least 30 years.
Fagbemi warned that providing intelligence on security personnel to armed groups could have grave consequences for the country’s security operations.
“If it is not nipped in the bud, a whole generation of our security operatives can be wiped out by people like this providing information about their movement,” he told the court.
Shullai did not oppose the prosecution’s submissions on sentencing.
Frank’s conviction relates specifically to the count to which he pleaded guilty. The first three counts, which he denied, were struck out following the prosecution’s application.
Gana’s Violent History and Death
Gana emerged from a militia group that reportedly began as a community defence force in Benue State amid attacks attributed to suspected armed herders. He later became a notorious militia leader associated with violence and insecurity in the region.
On September 8, 2020, Gana was killed during a military operation by Nigerian Army troops.
Before his death, he had reportedly surrendered under a second amnesty programme organised by the Benue State Government in Katsina-Ala Local Government Area. The surrender took place in the presence of traditional rulers, religious leaders and local government officials.
Gana was travelling in a government-backed convoy alongside other repentant militia members and officials towards Makurdi, where then Governor Samuel Ortom was expected to receive them.
However, troops of the Nigerian Army’s 4 Special Forces Command, operating under Operation Ayem Akpatuma III, intercepted the convoy at a checkpoint along the Gbese–Gboko–Makurdi road.
The commander of the unit at the time, Brigadier General Maude Ali Gadzama, said the troops acted on intelligence and that a confrontation followed. The military maintained that members of the militia group opened fire or resisted the troops, leading to a shootout in which Gana was killed and about 40 other members were reportedly arrested.
Ortom and other community leaders and political figures disputed the military’s account. They maintained that Gana was surrendering peacefully and alleged that soldiers removed him from the official convoy and killed him unlawfully.
The conflicting accounts generated controversy over the circumstances of Gana’s death.
Frank’s case forms part of ongoing trials involving suspects accused of terrorism-related offences, as authorities pursue prosecutions linked to insecurity and armed violence.
The 40-year sentence underscores the seriousness with which the court treated the offence of supplying intelligence to an armed militia leader. The court’s order for rehabilitation and deradicalisation will take effect after Frank completes his prison term.
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