The Department of State Services (DSS) plans to contest the life sentences handed down to two senior Ansaru commanders by a Federal High Court in Abuja. Justice Emeka Nwite issued the life terms after Mahmud Usman, known as Abu Bara’a, and his deputy, Abubakar Abba, entered guilty pleas regarding 32 terrorism charges.
Although the convicts requested leniency during their sentencing, a senior DSS representative stated that the agency views the life imprisonment ruling as inadequate for the gravity of their offenses. The official highlighted a suspicious shift in the convicts’ behavior, noting that they had previously avoided guilty pleas until a separate kidnapping incident occurred in Oyo State.
Reports indicate that during the abduction of teachers and students in Oriire, the kidnappers demanded the release of these two specific commanders as a condition for the victims’ freedom. Following the conclusion of that crisis, the defendants suddenly changed their stance to plead guilty. The DSS argues that these commanders are linked to the deaths of two teachers who were beheaded by their captors to force government concessions. Consequently, the intelligence agency believes the current sentences fail to provide justice for the families affected by these violent acts.
