A landmark terrorism trial reached its climax as a Federal High Court ordered the imprisonment of a feared Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) commander, Hussaini Ismaila, following his admission of guilt to a string of violent offences.
The ruling, delivered after years of legal delays, underscores the state’s determination to hold extremist actors accountable.
Justice Emeka Nwite handed down the judgment after prosecutors from the Department of State Services (DSS) outlined how Ismaila, widely known by the alias “Mai Tangaran”, played a central role in a series of coordinated attacks that shook Kano more than a decade ago.
The court proceedings took place in Abuja, where records showed that the case had crawled through multiple appeals and a trial-within-trial designed to test the validity of the defendant’s confessional statements.
Although Ismaila initially denied the allegations, his stance shifted dramatically once the prosecution closed its case.
According to investigators, the convict served as a key operational figure within ISWAP and allegedly oversaw bombings and gun attacks on strategic security formations during the 2012 insurgent wave.
The assaults targeted the Police Headquarters in Bompai, the Mobile Police Base on Kabuga Road, the Pharm Centre Police Station, and the Angwa Uku Police Station, incidents that left several people injured and heightened fears across the region.
DSS operatives eventually arrested him on August 31, 2017, during a raid in Tsamiyya Babba Village in Kano’s Gezewa Local Government Area.
He was later charged under the Terrorism Prevention Amendment Act of 2013 on four counts linked to the deadly operations.
Five witnesses testified during the trial, including two DSS officers and civilians who lived through some of the attacks.
After hearing the final witness, Ismaila abruptly changed his plea to guilty, prompting his lawyer, P.B. Onijah of the Legal Aid Council, to appeal for mercy.
“My client has accepted responsibility for his actions and regrets every step that brought him here,” Onijah told the court. “He does not wish to drag this matter any further.”
Justice Nwite ruled that the evidence presented was overwhelming and convicted the defendant on all counts.
He issued a 15-year sentence on the first count and 20 years each on the remaining three counts, to run concurrently. The sentence takes effect from the date of arrest, meaning Ismaila’s imprisonment is calculated from August 31, 2017.
The judge instructed the Controller-General of the Nigeria Correctional Service to hold the convict in any suitable facility and mandated a compulsory rehabilitation and deradicalisation programme upon completion of his jail term.