The Department of State Services, DSS, says it will appeal the life sentences imposed on two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, insisting the punishment falls short of the gravity of the crimes for which they were convicted.
For the DSS, the case is about more than securing convictions. The agency says the events surrounding the defendants’ eventual guilty pleas and the killing of two teachers abducted during the Oriire school attack highlight why it believes a stiffer sentence is warranted in the interest of justice.
A senior DSS official spoke after Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar, the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, also known as Mahmud al-Nigeri or Malam Mamuda, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to all 32 counts against them.
The court handed both men life imprisonment shortly after they admitted guilt to all 32 counts brought against them by the Federal Government.
According to the official, the Service considers the punishment too lenient.
“The reason the terrorists beheaded the two Oriire teachers was to put pressure on government to release these two Ansaru commanders. It would, therefore, not be fair for two men to be beheaded and their families left to live with that loss without adequately bringing the culprits to justice,” the official said.
The official said the defendants had initially pleaded not guilty but later told the court they were undecided on what plea to enter. Justice Nwite subsequently gave them until Monday’s sitting to make up their minds.
He said the change in their position became significant as the Oriire abduction dragged on.
“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 source 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.
The DSS says it will ask the Court of Appeal to set aside the life sentences, insisting the punishment does not adequately reflect the deaths of the two Oriire teachers whose captors, it says, sought the release of the convicted Ansaru commanders.
