22/07/2026
๐๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ผ ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฃ๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ต๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
The Department of State Services (DSS) has disclosed that it will challenge the life imprisonment handed to two senior Ansaru terrorist commanders, insisting the punishment is too lenient considering the gravity of their crimes, including the murder of two teachers abducted during the Oriire school kidnapping in Oyo State.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Mahmud Usman, popularly known as Abu Baraโa, Abbas, or Mukhtar, and Abubakar Abba, also known as Mahmud al-Nigeri or Malam Mamuda, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to all 32 charges filed against them.
Despite the conviction, a senior DSS official said the agency believes justice has not been fully served and has begun moves to appeal the judgment in pursuit of the maximum penalty allowed by law.
According to the official, the two suspects repeatedly delayed entering their pleas while pupils and teachers abducted from Oriire remained in captivity for nearly 60 days. During that period, the kidnappers allegedly demanded the unconditional release of the two Ansaru commanders in exchange for the hostages.
The official explained that the defendants initially pleaded not guilty and later told the court they were still undecided on how they intended to plead. After Justice Nwite gave them a final deadline, and following the successful rescue of the Oriire victims, the two men returned to court and admitted guilt on all counts.
The DSS further alleged that the terrorists killed two of the abducted teachers in an attempt to pressure the government into releasing the detained Ansaru leaders. The agency argued that life imprisonment does not adequately reflect the pain suffered by the victimsโ families and vowed to pursue a stricter sentence through the appellate courts.
Source: Department of State Services (DSS)