The Department of State Services (DSS) says it will appeal the life imprisonment handed to three men convicted over the abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
Grassroots Parrot reports that the secret police insisted that the punishment does not match the gravity of their crimes.
The DSS said the attack led to the beheading of two teachers by members of the terrorist group involved, arguing that the convicts deserve the maximum penalty under the law.
Justice Salim Ibrahim of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sentenced the three men to life imprisonment on Thursday after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences, including belonging to Darul Salam, an affiliate of the Ansaru terrorist group, concealing information about the kidnapping, and promoting extremist religious ideology.
The convicts are Abdulrazak Umar (also known as Abu Khalifa/Abu Khalid), Yunusa Musa (Yunusa Bin Musa), and Shamsu Adamu Sani (Abu Itisar).
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According to the DSS, the suspects were prosecuted on a 10-count charge involving kidnapping, terrorism, concealment of information, and facilitating terrorist training through digital communication platforms, contrary to the Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.
The court sentenced all three to life imprisonment on one of the terrorism counts, while Abdulrazak Umar received additional life sentences on multiple counts relating to terrorist training, instructions, and extremist indoctrination.
The DSS noted that it also plans to challenge the recent life sentences imposed on two senior Ansaru commanders, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (Mallam Mamuda), maintaining that the offences warrant the maximum punishment available under Nigerian law.
