A Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted and sentenced a leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Hussaini Ismaila, to 20 years’ imprisonment on terrorism charges brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS).
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Tuesday following Ismaila’s decision to change his plea from not guilty to guilty on the four-count charge filed under the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013.
Ismaila, also known as Mai Tangaran, was accused of coordinating multiple attacks on police formations in Kano State in 2012.
According to the prosecution, Ismaila masterminded attacks on the Police Headquarters in Bompai, the Mobile Police Base on Kabuga Road, Pharm Centre Police Station, and Angwa Uku Police Station, among other locations, during which several people sustained injuries.
He was arrested on August 31, 2017, at Tsamiyya Babba Village in Gezewa Local Government Area of Kano State and subsequently arraigned.
However, the trial experienced significant delays due to interlocutory appeals and a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of his extra-judicial statements.
When proceedings eventually commenced, the DSS called five witnesses, including two operatives and two eyewitnesses to some of the attacks.
Ismaila, who had initially denied the charges, changed his plea after the evidence of the fifth prosecution witness.
His counsel, P. B. Onijah of the Legal Aid Council, urged the court to temper justice with mercy, noting that his client was remorseful and had opted to plead guilty to avoid further delays.
In his judgment, Justice Nwite found Ismaila guilty on all four counts and sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment on count one and 20 years each on counts two, three, and four.
The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning the convict will serve a maximum term of 20 years.
The judge ordered that the sentence take effect from the date of Ismaila’s arrest, August 31, 2017.
He further directed the Controller-General of the Correctional Service to confine the convict in any facility of his choice for the duration of the sentence.
Justice Nwite also ordered that upon completion of his jail term, Ismaila must undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation before being reintegrated into society.
