A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a notorious commander of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Hussaini Ismaila, to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism charges filed by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Tuesday, bringing an end to a case that had dragged for years due to multiple appeals and a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the defendant’s statements.
Ismaila, popularly known as Mai Tangaran, was described by the prosecution as the coordinator of several coordinated terror attacks across Kano State in 2012.
The targeted locations included the Police Headquarters in Bompai; the Mobile Police Base along Kabuga Road; the Pharm Centre Police Station; and the Angwa Uku Police Station.
Many people were reportedly injured in the attacks, which formed part of a violent wave of extremist assaults across the North at the time.
The DSS arrested him on August 31, 2017, at Tsamiyya Babba Village in Gezewa Local Government Area of Kano State. He was subsequently arraigned on a four-count charge under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
During trial, the prosecution called five witnesses, including two DSS operatives and two civilians who witnessed some of the attacks. Although Ismaila initially maintained his innocence, he abruptly changed his plea to guilty after the fifth prosecution witness testified.
His lawyer, P.B. Onijah of the Legal Aid Council, begged the court for leniency, claiming the convict was remorseful and chose to change his plea to avoid wasting the court’s time. Onijah said his client regretted “ever being involved in terrorism.”
Justice Nwite convicted him on all four counts. He sentenced Ismaila to 15 years on count one and 20 years each on counts two, three, and four, with all sentences to run concurrently. The prison term is to be calculated from the date of his arrest—August 31, 2017.
The judge further directed the Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Service to detain Ismaila in any facility of his choosing.
He also ordered that after completing his sentence, the convict must undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation before re-entering society.
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