ABUJA, Nigeria, Dec. 7 (UPI) -- A former spokesman for the militant Islamist sect Boko Haram has been sentenced to three years in prison by a court in Nigeria, security officials said.
Ali Sanda Umar Konduga was arrested last month along with a Nigerian lawmaker accused of backing the group, the BBC reported Wednesday.
The sect has staged several attacks in Nigeria, including on a U.N. base and police headquarters in Abuja.
Konduga told the court he was expelled from Boko Haram on suspicion of being a government spy and has not served as its spokesman for months.
His father said his son is mentally ill.
Konduga was charged in a two-count indictment with criminal breach of trust and criminal intimidation, The Nation reported.
He was accused of disclosing classified information to unauthorized persons.
Last week a U.S. congressional report called Boko Haram an "emerging threat" to the United States and its interests.
