The Federal Government has warned landlords who knowingly rent out properties to terrorists that they risk prosecution and a minimum 20-year prison sentence under Nigeria’s Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022.
The warning also covers individuals who provide facilities for preparatory meetings involving terrorist groups and companies that receive funds linked to terrorism.
A Director in the Legal Office of the National Security Adviser, Mijinyawa Zakari, gave the warning in Abuja during a press briefing on the 11th phase of terrorism suspects’ trials.
Zakari said the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022, criminalises preparatory offences and the provision of material or financial support to terrorist groups.
He explained that the government’s counter-terrorism strategy targets not only individuals who carry out attacks but also those who facilitate terrorist activities.
“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, knowingly renting property to terrorists constitutes a prosecutable offence, even where the property has not been used to carry out an attack.
“Providing support to terrorism attracts a minimum sentence of 20 years. Renting your property to a terrorist is also an offence,” Zakari said.
He added that holding preparatory meetings with terrorist groups could also attract prosecution under the law.
“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 also warned companies against receiving funds connected to terrorism, saying they could face serious legal consequences regardless of whether the money was eventually used to carry out an attack.
He said a company convicted of receiving terrorist financing could face a fine of ₦200 million, while its principal officers could also face prosecution.
The company could also face winding-up proceedings, he added.
The NSA official urged journalists and other stakeholders to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the law to understand activities classified as terrorism-related offences.
He said the government was strengthening its investigative capacity to identify and prosecute individuals and organisations involved in terrorism financing and other forms of support.
Zakari encouraged Nigerians to obtain copies of the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act and study its relevant provisions as part of efforts to improve public awareness of the country’s counter-terrorism framework.
