The Department of State Services (DSS) has expressed dissatisfaction with the life imprisonment sentences handed to three men convicted over the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, announcing plans to appeal the judgment.
The secret police argued that the punishment does not reflect the gravity of the crimes committed, particularly the killing of two teachers during the kidnapping.
According to the DSS, the beheading of the teachers by members of the terrorist group constitutes a capital offence that should attract the death penalty.
The agency’s reaction follows Thursday’s judgment by Justice Salim Ibrahim of the Federal High Court, who sentenced the three defendants to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences.
The convicts—Abdulrazak Umar, also known as Abu Khalifa or Abu Khalid; Yunusa Musa, also known as Yunusa Bin Musa; and Shamsu Adamu Sani, also known as Abu Itisar—admitted to charges including membership of Darul Salam, an affiliate of the Ansaru terrorist organisation, concealing information about the kidnapping, and promoting extremist religious ideology.
Abdulrazak Umar specifically pleaded guilty to Counts 7, 8, 9 and 10, which involved training terrorist members, issuing operational instructions, and inciting violence through extremist ideology.
The defendants were prosecuted by the DSS on a 10-count charge bordering on kidnapping, concealment of information, and terrorism-related offences under Section 16(1) of the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
Court documents revealed that the three men, all natives of Niger State, knowingly concealed information about terrorist activities, participated in the abduction of victims, and used a messaging platform to facilitate terrorist training and coordination.
The court sentenced all three to life imprisonment on Count 6, while Abdulrazak Umar received additional life sentences on Counts 7, 9 and 10.
The judgment comes barely a week after another Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced two senior Ansaru commanders—Mahmud Muhammad Usman, popularly known as Abu Bara’a, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Mallam Mamuda—to life imprisonment for terrorism-related offences.
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