A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a notorious Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander, Hussaini Ismaila, popularly known as Mai Tangaran, to 20 years in prison after he confessed to coordinating multiple deadly attacks across Kano State.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who delivered the judgment on Tuesday, said the sentence would run concurrently and would be calculated from August 31, 2017, the day Ismaila was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
The conviction brings closure to a case that dragged for years, following several interlocutory appeals and a trial-within-trial on the voluntariness of the defendant’s statements.
“He unleashed coordinated terror on Kano”
Prosecutors described Ismaila as a dangerous commander who coordinated a string of violent attacks in 2012. Targeted locations included the Kano Police Headquarters in Bompai, the Mobile Police Base along Kabuga Road, Farm Centre Police Station, and Angwa Uku Police Station.
The attacks formed part of a wave of extremist violence that hit the North more than a decade ago, leaving several people injured and communities in fear.
According to DSS witnesses, Ismaila operated as a key ISWAP foot soldier whose role was central to the planning and execution of explosives and gun attacks on security formations.
DSS operatives arrested Ismaila on August 31, 2017, at Tsamiyya Babba Village in Gezewa LGA, Kano State, after months of tracking him. He was arraigned on a four-count charge under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act, 2013.
During the trial, the prosecution called five witnesses—two DSS operatives and two civilians who witnessed the attacks. After the fifth witness testified, Ismaila suddenly abandoned his initial plea of innocence and admitted guilt to all the charges.
“He regrets ever participating in terrorism”
His lawyer, P.B. Onijah of the Legal Aid Council, pleaded for leniency, saying the defendant’s decision to change his plea was proof of remorse and respect for the court.
“My client regrets ever being involved in terrorism and does not want to waste the court’s time,” Onijah told the court.
But Justice Nwite, while acknowledging the plea, said the gravity of the offences required a firm sentence.
The court convicted Ismaila on all four counts and sentenced him as follows: 15 years on count one ; 20 years each on counts two, three, and four
However, the sentences will run concurrently, leaving the convict to serve a maximum of 20 years, with the prison term starting from the date of his arrest in 2017.
Justice Nwite also directed the Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Service to detain Ismaila in any facility deemed appropriate.
In a rare additional order, the court mandated that after completing his sentence, the convict must undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation before he can be reintegrated into society.
The judgment marks one of the most decisive convictions of an ISWAP-linked operative arrested in Kano over a decade after the attacks that shook the state.
'
'Do you want to share a story with us? Do you want to advertise with us? Do you need publicity for a product, service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348183319097 Email: platformtimes@gmail.com
We are committed to impactful investigative journalism for human interest and social justice. Your donation will help us tell more stories. Kindly donate any amount HERE
