The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday sentenced 37-year-old Zakaria Garba to death by hanging over his involvement in the 2014 Nyanya Motor Park bomb explosions that killed dozens and injured hundreds.
Justice presiding in Abuja found Garba guilty of terrorism charges related to the April 14, 2014 attack at Nyanya Motor Park, Abuja. The court ruled that the prosecution proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Garba participated in planning and facilitating the bombing that targeted morning commuters.
After weighing allocutus from his counsel, the judge pronounced the death sentence: “The neck shall hang you until you are dead.”
On April 14, 2014, a bomb hidden in a vehicle exploded during rush hour at Nyanya Motor Park, where thousands of workers boarded buses into central Abuja. The blast killed at least 75 people and injured over 200, leaving a crater and twisted metal across the park. It was the first major Boko Haram attack inside Abuja city limits and came just weeks before the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
A second bomb hit the same park two weeks later on May 1, 2014, killing 19 more. Those attacks necessitated significant changes to security at Abuja’s entry points.
Prosecutors told the court that Garba was part of a terror cell that sourced explosives, conducted surveillance, and helped coordinate logistics for the Nyanya attack. He was arrested years after the bombing during a nationwide manhunt for fugitives linked to Boko Haram operations in the FCT and North-Central.
Garba pleaded not guilty throughout the trial and argued he was framed. The court, however, relied on confessional statements, forensic evidence, and witness testimony to convict him.
1. *Delayed justice*: 11 years after the blast, victims’ families say the sentence brings closure, though nothing can restore lost lives.
2. *Deterrence signal*: Courts have been handing down death sentences in terrorism cases to show that attacks on civilians will be punished, even years later.
3. *Appeal next*: Garba’s lawyers can appeal to the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Nigeria has not carried out judicial hangings in recent years, with death sentences often commuted to life imprisonment.
A courtroom in Abuja closed one chapter of the Nyanya horror on Friday. For survivors who still bear scars, the sentence is justice delayed but delivered. For Nigeria, it’s another reminder that terrorism trials move slowly, but the law eventually catches up.
