A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Hussaini Ismaila, a notorious Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander, to 20 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism charges brought by the Department of State Services (DSS)
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the ruling on Tuesday, concluding a case that had been delayed for years due to multiple appeals and a trial-within-a-trial to verify the voluntariness of Ismaila’s statements.
Ismaila, widely known as Mai Tangaran, was identified by the prosecution as the mastermind behind several coordinated terror attacks in Kano State in 2012. The assaults targeted the Police Headquarters in Bompai, the Mobile Police Base along Kabuga Road, Pharm Centre Police Station, and Angwa Uku Police Station, injuring multiple people and contributing to a wave of extremist violence in the North at the time.
The DSS arrested Ismaila on August 31, 2017, in Tsamiyya Babba Village, Gezewa Local Government Area, Kano State, and arraigned him on a four-count charge under the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013.
During the trial, five witnesses testified, including DSS operatives and civilians who witnessed the attacks. Initially pleading not guilty, Ismaila suddenly changed his plea to guilty after the fifth prosecution witness.
His lawyer, P.B. Onijah of the Legal Aid Council, urged the court for leniency, emphasizing Ismaila’s remorse and his decision to plead guilty to avoid prolonging the court process. Onijah stated that his client regretted ever participating in terrorism.
Justice Nwite convicted Ismaila on all four counts, sentencing him to 15 years on the first count and 20 years each on counts two, three, and four, with all sentences running concurrently from the date of his arrest, August 31, 2017.
The judge instructed the Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Service to place Ismaila in any facility of choice and ordered that he undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation before reintegration into society.
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