The Department of State Services (DSS) is set to appeal against the life sentence handed down on Monday to two top commanders of the Ansaru terrorist organization by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
Justice Emeka Nwite had sentenced Mahmud Usman, popularly known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas, or Mukhtar, the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, alias Mahmud al-Nigeri or Malam Mamuda, to life imprisonment shortly after both men pleaded guilty to all 32 counts of terrorism-related charges brought against them.
A top DSS official, however, described the life sentence as too lenient given the gravity of the crimes committed by the two commanders.
The official said it was curious that both convicts had appeared on the verge of pleading guilty, only to backtrack around the same time suspected members of the Ansaru network abducted 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,” 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 official added that the two men had shifted from an initial not-guilty plea to being undecided on their plea at the penultimate court session, a stance that prompted Justice Nwite to give them an ultimatum to make up their minds before Monday’s sitting.
It was only after security operatives rescued the Oriire captives that the Ansaru commanders returned to court and pleaded guilty to all the charges.
The DSS official argued that allowing the two men to walk away with life sentences would fail to deliver justice for two Oriire teachers who were beheaded by their abductors 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 are made to live with the losses without adequately bringing the culprits to book.”
By Ogbeni Olawale Dawodu
