The Department of State Services (DSS) has secured the conviction and sentence to death of Ibrahim Usman, also known as Dan Iyali, over his involvement in the kidnapping and killing of three persons in Sokoto State in September 2023.
Usman was tried on a four-count charge before the Sokoto High Court, sitting in Sokoto, alongside other suspects who are currently at large. The charges bordered on criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, culpable homicide punishable by death, and voluntarily causing grievous hurt without provocation.
While delivering judgment, Justice Mohammed Mohammed held that the prosecution had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt and sentenced Ibrahim Usman to life imprisonment for kidnapping and death by hanging for culpable homicide.
Usman and his accomplices had invaded Bare Village, Goronyo Local Government Area of Sokoto State, on September 9, 2023, armed with guns and started shooting sporadically after which they kidnapped several residents, including Ahmad Alhassan, Umar Usman, Adamu Haliru (Naibi), Alhaji Sule Muhammad and Abdulmalik Muazu.
The prosecution established that the victims were subsequently taken to Marmaro Forest in Giayawa District, where Usman shot three of them, Alhaji Shuaibu Isah (Sarkin Ruwa), Umar Usman and Adamu Haliru (Naibi) which resulted in their deaths.
The suspects also allegedly shot one Ahmad Alhassan in the neck and Abdulmalik Muazu in the groin before abandoning them in the forest. The victims were subsequently rescued by members of a vigilante group.
Security sources revealed that Usman was arrested at Bare Village, Goronyo Local Government Area, in May 2024, after which he was arraigned on charges bordering on criminal conspiracy, kidnapping and culpable homicide under relevant provisions of the Sokoto State Penal Code Law 2019.
The conviction is part of the DSS’s ongoing efforts to investigate and prosecute individuals allegedly involved in kidnapping, terrorism-related violence and other serious security offences across the country.
