DSS to Appeal Life Sentences for Ansaru Commanders, Says Punishment Is Too Light

The Department of State Services (DSS) has hinted plans to appeal the life imprisonment sentences handed to two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist organisation, describing the punishment as insufficient considering the gravity of the allegations against them.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday sentenced Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas and Mukhtar, identified as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, also known as Mahmud al-Nigeri and Malam Mamuda, his deputy and chief of staff, to life imprisonment.

The verdict followed their guilty plea to a 32-count terrorism charge filed by the Federal Government.

Justice Emeka Nwite handed down the sentence after the convicts and their lawyer appealed to the court for leniency.

However, a senior DSS official told journalists that the security agency was dissatisfied with the outcome and would challenge the judgment at the appellate court.

According to the official, the service believes the life sentences do not adequately reflect the alleged offences attributed to the two Ansaru commanders.

The DSS official argued that the severity of the crimes linked to the suspects required a stronger punishment, particularly given their alleged connection to terrorist operations and attacks carried out by the group.

The agency also raised concerns about developments surrounding the recent kidnapping of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, claiming that the abductors had demanded the release of the Ansaru commanders as a condition for freeing the victims.

The official alleged that the stance of the two convicts changed during court proceedings following the abduction incident.

“For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held on to the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed,” the official said.

He claimed that the abductors had made the release of the two Ansaru leaders one of their conditions for freeing the kidnapped victims.

The DSS further alleged that the killing of two Oriire teachers by the kidnappers was intended to pressure the government into releasing the detained terror commanders.

The agency maintained that allowing the suspects to receive life sentences would not adequately address the suffering of victims and families affected by Ansaru-linked violence.

The official said the appeal would seek a reconsideration of the punishment, insisting that justice must take into account the alleged scale of the crimes attributed to the convicts.

Mahmud Usman and Abubakar Abba were arrested separately between May and July 2025 and prosecuted on charges bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining to fund terrorist activities, production of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and coordinating terrorist sleeper cells.

Ansaru, an offshoot of Boko Haram with links to Al-Qaeda networks, has been blamed for several attacks and kidnappings in parts of northern Nigeria.

The DSS has not disclosed the specific grounds of its planned appeal but said it would pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels.