The Department of State Services (DSS) has secured a death sentence against Ibrahim Usman, also known as “Dan Iyali,” for his role in a violent raid that led to the kidnapping and death of three residents of Sokoto State.
Delivering judgment at the Sokoto High Court of Justice, Justice Mohammed Mohammed said the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. Usman was sentenced to life imprisonment for kidnapping and to death by hanging for culpable homicide.
Usman faced a four-count charge including criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, culpable homicide (punishable by death) and voluntarily causing grievous harm under the Sokoto State Penal Code (2019).
The Bare Village raid
Prosecution documents state that the attack occurred on September 9, 2023, when Usman and armed accomplices entered Bare Village in Goronyo Local Government Area. The assailants fired sporadically and abducted several villagers, among them Ahmad Alhassan, Umar Usman, Adamu Haliru (Naibi), Alh Sule Muhammad and Abdulmalik Muazu.
Three of the abductees were later killed in captivity. During the attack, the gunmen shot Ahmad Alhassan in the neck and Abdulmalik Muazu in the groin before abandoning them in the forest; both were later rescued by local vigilantes.
Following intelligence-driven operations, DSS operatives arrested Usman in Bare Village in May 2024. His co-accused remain at large.
Ongoing crackdown on terror networks
Security sources said the conviction is part of the DSS’s wider counter-terrorism campaign to track, arrest and prosecute perpetrators of violent crime. The verdict follows a June 2026 ruling in which the DSS Counter-Terrorism Unit secured the death penalty for three men — including a Nigerien national — convicted of cross‑border terrorism and arms proliferation in Sokoto State.
Law-enforcement agencies said efforts continue to locate Usman’s fugitive accomplices so they may face prosecution.
