The Department of State Services (DSS) has announced plans to challenge the life imprisonment sentences handed to three men convicted over their involvement in the abduction of school pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The DSS said it is dissatisfied with the judgment, maintaining that the punishment does not reflect the gravity of the offences committed during the attack.
According to the agency, the crimes included the beheading of two teachers by members of the terrorist group responsible for the abduction.
Justice Salim Ibrahim of the Federal High Court had on Thursday sentenced the three men to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to belonging to Darul Salam, an affiliate of the Ansaru terrorist organisation, concealing information relating to the kidnapping, and promoting extremist ideology.
The convicts are Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar.
Abdulrazak Umar separately pleaded guilty to counts 7, 8, 9 and 10, which relate to providing training, issuing instructions, and inciting members of the terrorist group through religious ideology.
The three men were prosecuted by the DSS on a 10-count charge involving kidnapping, concealment of information, and terrorism-related offences under Section 16(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
According to the charges, the defendants, all from Niger State, knowingly withheld information about persons involved in terrorist activities, participated in the kidnapping operation, and used a messaging platform to facilitate terrorist training.
The court sentenced all three defendants to life imprisonment on Count 6.
Abdulrazak Umar also received separate life sentences on Counts 7, 9 and 10.
The planned appeal comes just days after another Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced two senior Ansaru commanders, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (Abu Bara’a) and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri (Mallam Mamuda), to life imprisonment.
The DSS has also indicated that it will appeal that judgment.
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