The Department of State Services (DSS) is preparing to challenge the life sentences handed down to two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, insisting that the penalty is overly lenient and fails to reflect the gravity of their crimes.
​Earlier on Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite sentenced Mahmud Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a), the self-proclaimed Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba (alias Mahmud al-Nigeri) to life imprisonment after both defendants pleaded guilty to all 32 counts filed against them by the Federal Government. The charges encompassed terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, and the fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).
​Despite the convictions, intelligence sources confirmed that the secret police plan to file an appeal seeking the maximum statutory penalty, the death sentence.
​A senior DSS official disclosed that the Service considers the judgment inadequate, particularly given the convicts’ alleged ties to recent violent atrocities, including the abduction of teachers and pupils in Oriire, Oyo State, during which two teachers were beheaded by terrorists attempting to force a prisoner swap for the commanders.
​”For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held on to the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed their stance,” the official noted, pointing out that the duo abruptly shifted from an undecided stance to a guilty plea shortly after the rescue of the hostages.
​”The abductors demanded the unconditional release of these two commanders and beheaded two teachers to pressure the government. Imposing only life sentences would not deliver justice for those slain teachers and their grieving families.”
The 32 counts covers terrorism financing, arms procurement, cross-border banditry, and coordination of sleeper cells linked to Sahelian extremist networks.
The DSS legal team is finalizing grounds of appeal to be submitted to the Court of Appeal, Abuja, urging the appellate court to substitute the life terms with capital punishment.
