DSS TO APPEAL LIFE SENTENCE HANDED TO ANSARU TERROR COMMANDERS, SEEKS MAXIMUM PENALTY
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By ‘Sefiu Ajape
The Department of State Services (DSS) is set to appeal Monday’s life sentence handed to two top commanders of the Ansaru terrorist organisation by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Justice Emeka Nwite had, shortly after Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a; Abbas; and Mukhtar, the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, also known as Mahmud al-Nigeri and Malam Mamuda, pleaded guilty to all 32 charges against them, sentenced both men to life imprisonment.
However, a top DSS official said the agency considered the life sentence too lenient for the crimes committed by the Ansaru commanders.
The official said the Service found it curious that both convicts were initially unwilling to plead guilty but changed their position shortly after gunmen believed to be members of the same Ansaru organisation kidnapped pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State.
“For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held on to the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed.
“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 DSS official said.
“From ‘not guilty plea,’ the two men, at the penultimate court session, said they were undecided on what plea to take. Justice Nwite even had to hand them an ultimatum to make up their minds on or before Monday’s sitting.
“After the Oriire rescue, they came to court to plead guilty to all the charges,” the official added.
According to the official, allowing the two terror commanders to serve life sentences would not adequately serve justice for the two Oriire teachers who were beheaded by their abductors.
“The reason the terrorists beheaded the two Oriire teachers was to put pressure on the government to release these two Ansaru commanders. It, therefore, wouldn’t be fair to see two men beheaded and their families made to live with the losses without adequately bringing the culprits to book,” the official said.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had sentenced the two senior Ansaru commanders, an al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism-related offences.
Justice Nwite convicted them on a 32-count charge filed by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
The charges included terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other offences linked to terrorist operations.
The court sentenced both men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31 while imposing additional 20-year prison terms on the remaining counts. Justice Nwite ordered that the sentences on the other counts should take effect from the date of their arrest.
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