The Department of State Services (DSS) is set to challenge the life sentences imposed on two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group by a Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking the death penalty and insisting that the punishment does not adequately reflect the gravity of their crimes.
Justice Emeka Nwite sentenced Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar, and Mahmud al-Nigeri, popularly known as Malam Mamuda, to life imprisonment on Monday, July 20, after they pleaded guilty to a 32-count charge bordering on terrorism and related offences.
The two convicts, described by security agencies as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru and his deputy and chief of staff, changed their plea from not guilty to guilty during the proceedings and, through their counsel, appealed to the court for leniency.
Speaking after the judgment, a senior DSS official said the agency would appeal the sentence, arguing that life imprisonment does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the crimes committed by the convicted terrorists.
According to the official, the two commanders had initially indicated their intention to plead guilty but later changed their position around the period pupils and teachers were abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State by suspected members of the Ansaru group.
“For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed,” the official said.
“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 disclosed that the defendants, who had earlier pleaded not guilty, later informed the court that they were undecided on the plea they intended to enter, prompting Justice Nwite to issue them an ultimatum to decide before Monday’s proceedings.
The official further stated that after security forces rescued the abducted victims, the two men returned to court and pleaded guilty to all the charges.
He argued that allowing the convicted terrorists to serve life sentences would not adequately serve justice for the two teachers from Oriire who were beheaded by their captors during the abduction.
“The reason the terrorists beheaded the two Oriire teachers was to put pressure on government to release these two Ansaru commanders,” the official said.
“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 DSS maintained that it would pursue all available legal options to seek a stiffer punishment for the convicted Ansaru commanders.
Comments