A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced three men arrested by the Department of State Services,DSS, to life imprisonment for their role in the recent abduction of pupils and teachers of a school in Oriire, Oyo State — an operation that ended in the gruesome beheading of two of the captured teachers.
Justice Salim Ibrahim handed down the sentences after the convicts — Abdulrazak Umar (alias Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (alias Yunusa Bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (alias Abu Itisar) — pleaded guilty to belonging to Darul Salam, an affiliate of the Ansaru terrorist organisation, concealing information on the Oriire abduction, and inciting others through extremist religious ideology.
Charges And Convictions
The trio, all indigenes of Niger State, were arraigned by the DSS on a 10-count charge bordering on kidnapping, concealment of information and terrorism-related offences, contrary to Section 16(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
According to the charges, the defendants knowingly withheld information about persons linked to terrorist activities, participated in the abduction of pupils and teachers, and exploited a messaging platform to facilitate terrorist training and indoctrination.
At arraignment, the first defendant, Abdulrazak Umar, pleaded guilty to counts 7, 8, 9 and 10, which bordered on training, passing instructions to, and inciting terror group members along a particular religious ideology.
All three defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment on Count 6. Umar was additionally sentenced to life imprisonment on Counts 7, 9 and 10.
Service May Appeal
Although the DSS has yet to issue an official statement on Thursday’s judgement, indications from within the Service suggest that its legal team is inclined to challenge the sentences on appeal, given the brutality that attended the Oriire operation — including the beheading of two teachers by the abductors.
Also Read: FG slams 10-count charge on suspects of Oriire kidnap
“Ever since the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced four men to death by hanging for the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, the Service has been naturally inclined towards the payment of the ultimate price by persons found culpable of killing others,” a senior officer in the DSS legal department said.
Background
The Oriire attack is one in a string of assaults on soft targets in Nigeria’s North-Central and South-West corridors linked to Ansaru, a splinter faction of Boko Haram that broke away in 2012 and has since been designated a terrorist organisation by the Federal Government. The group, which operates through cells such as Darul Salam, has been implicated in high-profile kidnappings, attacks on security convoys, and the ideological radicalisation of recruits across Niger, Kaduna and Kogi States.
Thursday’s judgement comes barely a week after the same Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced two top Ansaru commanders — Mahmud Muhammad Usman (alias Abu Bara’a) and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri (alias Mallam Mamuda) — also to life imprisonment. Both men were similarly captured by the DSS in an intelligence-led operation, and the Service has already signalled its intention to appeal that ruling in pursuit of stiffer penalties.
The pattern of successful prosecutions has been anchored on the 2022 Owo church massacre verdict, in which four convicts were sentenced to death by hanging for the June 5, 2022, attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State — a case now serving as a benchmark for the Service’s push for capital punishment in terrorism trials involving loss of life.
Security analysts note that the twin convictions within a week represent one of the most significant judicial blows against the Ansaru network in recent years, and could shape the trajectory of ongoing counter-terrorism prosecutions before the Federal High Court.
Crediblenewsng.com
