Why Oyo Teacher Was Beheaded By Terrorists – DSS

The Department of State Services (DSS) has announced plans to challenge the life imprisonment handed to two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, arguing that the sentence does not adequately reflect the severity of the crimes for which they were convicted.

The agency said it would approach the Court of Appeal to seek a stiffer punishment, maintaining that the circumstances surrounding the Oriire school abduction and the killing of two teachers warrant a more severe sentence.

The DSS position was disclosed by a senior official who spoke shortly after Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced the two terrorists on Monday.

The court convicted Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas, or Mukhtar, who prosecutors identified as the Emir of Ansaru, alongside Abubakar Abba, also known as Mahmud al-Nigeri or Malam Mamuda, after they pleaded guilty to all 32 charges brought against them by the Federal Government.

Following their guilty plea, Justice Nwite sentenced both men to life imprisonment.

However, reacting to the judgment, the DSS insisted that the punishment was too lenient given the impact of the offences linked to the convicted terrorists.

According to the agency official, the two teachers abducted during the Oriire school attack were later killed because the terrorists wanted to pressure the government into releasing the two Ansaru commanders.

“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.

DSS Links Guilty Plea to Oriire Rescue

The official also revealed details of the court proceedings, stating that the defendants initially pleaded not guilty before later informing the court that they were undecided about the plea they intended to enter.

According to the source, Justice Nwite directed the defendants to make their final position known before Monday’s hearing.

The DSS further alleged that while pupils and teachers abducted from Oriire remained in captivity for nearly two months, the kidnappers demanded the unconditional release of the two Ansaru commanders as one of the conditions for freeing the victims.

“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 official stated.

The source added that after security forces successfully rescued the abductees, the two defendants returned to court and changed their pleas to guilty on all counts.

“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 maintained that it would challenge the verdict at the Court of Appeal, insisting that the punishment should better reflect the gravity of the offences and the loss suffered by the victims and their families.