Security agency argues conviction does not reflect the gravity of the terrorists’ crimes, linking the pair to demands made during the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oyo State…..
The Department of State Services (DSS) has signalled its intention to challenge the life imprisonment handed to two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, insisting the sentence does not adequately reflect the seriousness of their offences.
The Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice Emeka Nwite, on Monday sentenced the two men to life imprisonment after they admitted guilt to a 32-count terrorism charge.
The convicts, Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar, who was identified as the self-proclaimed Emir of Ansaru, and Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Malam Mamuda, the group’s deputy leader and chief of staff, changed their plea from not guilty to guilty before sentencing. Their lawyer had urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
Reacting to the judgment, a senior DSS official said the agency would seek a review of the sentence, arguing that life imprisonment was insufficient considering the scale of the offences allegedly committed by the two men.
According to the official, the defendants had initially indicated a willingness to plead guilty but later reversed that position around the period pupils and teachers were kidnapped in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State by suspected Ansaru members.
“For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held on to the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed,” the official said.
The DSS further alleged that the kidnappers demanded the unconditional release of the two commanders as part of the conditions for freeing the captives.
“One of the top conditions the abductors gave was the unconditional release of these same Ansaru commanders in exchange for the Oriire kidnap victims,” the official added.
According to the agency, the defendants later informed the court that they were yet to decide the plea they intended to enter, prompting Justice Nwite to give them a deadline to make their position known before Monday’s proceedings.
The DSS claimed that after security operatives rescued the Oriire victims, the two men returned to court and pleaded guilty to all the charges against them.
The agency also linked the killing of two teachers during the abduction to the kidnappers’ demand for the release of the convicted commanders.
“Allowing the two terror commanders walk away with life sentences will not serve the cause of justice for the two Oriire teachers beheaded by their abductors,” the official said.
“The reason the terrorists beheaded the two Oriire teachers was to put pressure on government to release these two Ansaru commanders. It, therefore, wouldn’t be fair to see two men beheaded and their families are made to live with the losses without adequately bringing the culprits to book.”
The DSS maintained that it would pursue legal steps to challenge the sentence in a bid to secure what it considers a more appropriate punishment.
