ABUJA: The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a leader of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), Hussaini Ismaila, to 20 years in prison for terrorism offences committed in Kano State.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Tuesday after Ismaila also known as Mai Tangaran, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on the four-count charge filed under the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act, 2013.
Ismaila was accused of coordinating a series of violent attacks on security formations in Kano in 2012.
The incidents included assaults on the Police Headquarters in Bompai, the Mobile Police Base on Kabuga Road, Pharm Centre Police Station, and Angwa Uku Police Station, during which several people sustained injuries.
He was arrested on August 31, 2017, in Tsamiyya Babba village, Gezawa Local Government Area of Kano State.
His trial had faced delays due to interlocutory appeals and a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of his extra-judicial statements.
The Department of State Services (DSS) called five witnesses before the defendant opted to change his plea.
Ismaila’s lawyer, P. B. Onijah of the Legal Aid Council, appealed for leniency, noting that the defendant was remorseful and chose to plead guilty to avoid prolonging the case.
Justice Nwite found him guilty on all four counts and imposed sentences of 15 years on count one and 20 years each on counts two, three and four.
The sentences will run concurrently and take effect from the date of his arrest, August 31, 2017. The court also ordered that Ismaila undergo rehabilitation and deradicalisation after completing his jail term.
Meanwhile, the trial of two alleged Ansaru commanders, Mahmud Usman and Abubakar Abba, has been fixed for January 15, 2026.
The two are facing a 32-count charge filed by the DSS, covering offences ranging from terrorism and kidnapping to illegal mining, arms procurement and terrorism financing, allegedly committed between 2015 and 2024.
Usman pleaded guilty only to count 10, which relates to an economic crime, but denied the remaining charges. He was previously sentenced to 15 years for using proceeds from illegal mining to finance terrorism and kidnapping. Abba pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The prosecution alleges that the accused persons bombed the Wawa Military Cantonment in Niger State, trained in weapons handling and IED fabrication, abducted security personnel including a Customs officer and an Immigration officer who was later killed and collected millions of naira in ransom used to purchase arms and train recruits in Mali and Sudan.
At Wednesday’s sitting, defence counsel B. I. Bakum sought an order to move the defendants from DSS custody to a correctional centre for easier access as the trial progresses.
However, DSS counsel David Kaswe opposed the request, arguing that proper procedures had not been followed.
Justice Nwite adjourned the matter to January 15, 2026, and directed the defence counsel to comply with due process in making any further applications.
