By Joe Udo
ABUJA (CONVERSEER) – The Federal High Court, Abuja Division, has convicted and sentenced one of the leaders of Islamic State West Africa province (ISWAP), Hussaini Ismaila, to 20 years imprisonment.
Justice Emeka Nwite gave the order in a summary judgment after Ismaila aka Mai Tangaran pleaded guilty to a four-count terrorism charge brought against him by the Department of State Services (DSS) for alleged terrorism.
During the arraignment, the prosecution told the court that Ismaila was the coordinator of the 2012 attacks on police headquarters in Bompai, Kano state; Mobile Police Base, Kabuga Road, Kano State; Pharma Centre Police Station, Kano State; Angwa Uku Police Station, Kano State; among other places, in which many were injured.
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The trial suffered delays due to appeals and the conduct of a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the defendant’s extrajudicial statements.
When the trial eventually opened, the prosecution called five witnesses, including two DSS officials and two eyewitnesses to some of the attacks.
Ismaila, who had earlier pleaded not guilty during his arraignment, changed his plea to guilty after the testimony of the fifth prosecution witness.
