FG warns landlords: renting property to terrorists is a crime
- The National Security Adviser's office says renting property to terrorists or hosting their meetings is prosecutable under the 2022 terrorism law.
- Its legal director, Mijinyawa Zakari, said supporting terrorism carries a minimum 20-year jail term.
- Companies that receive terrorist funds risk a ₦200m fine, prosecution of their principals and winding up.
The Federal Government has warned landlords that renting property to terrorists is a criminal offence, and that anyone who hosts preparatory meetings with terrorist groups can also be prosecuted.
The warning came from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, held to mark the end of the 11th phase of trials of terrorism suspects.
Mijinyawa Zakari, Director of the Legal Office at the NSA, said the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022 covers far more than direct attacks. Sections 11 to 33, he said, create a wide range of offences, including preparatory acts and providing support to terrorist groups.
“Renting your property to a terrorist is also an offence,” Zakari said, adding that providing support to terrorism carries a minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.
He explained that a person need not carry out an attack to be caught by the law. Even holding a preparatory meeting with a terrorist group counts, he said.
Companies and terrorist financing
Zakari also warned businesses against accepting money linked to terrorism. A company that receives such funds faces a fine of ₦200 million, its principals will be prosecuted, and the company itself could be wound up — whether or not the money was eventually used for an attack.
He said the government is boosting its investigative capacity, and that more charges are likely to follow. “It is a whole strategy that goes after both collaborators, perpetrators, irrespective of the degree,” he said.
He urged the media and other stakeholders to read the Act so they understand what counts as a terrorism-related offence.
Legal aid for suspects
At the same briefing, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria pushed back on claims that terrorism suspects are denied lawyers of their choice.
The council's Director-General, Aliyu Abubakar, spoke through his Technical Adviser on Counter-Terrorism, Dauda Hassan. He said officials visit suspects at Kuje Correctional Centre and military facilities before their trials, and that defence lawyers have been flown by helicopter to Kuje to meet clients.
He said private lawyers who want to take over a case must get clearance from the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Director of Federal Prosecution before collecting the charges. “Every defendant has the right to his legal practitioner of choice,” he said, describing claims to the contrary as false.
What happens next: The government says it will keep expanding investigations, so more landlords, companies and individuals could face charges under the Act.
