The Department of State Services has secured a death sentence against a suspected kidnapper, Ibrahim Usman, popularly known as Dan Iyali, over his alleged involvement in the abduction and killing of three people in Sokoto State.
Usman was convicted by the Sokoto State High Court, sitting in the Sokoto Judicial Division, after facing a four-count charge alongside other suspects who remain at large.
The charges included criminal conspiracy, kidnapping, culpable homicide punishable by death, and voluntarily causing grievous hurt without provocation.
According to the DSS, the offences were linked to a September 2023 incident involving the abduction and subsequent killing of three victims in the state.
The latest conviction comes months after the security agency secured death sentences against three other suspects in Sokoto over terrorism and arms trafficking-related offences.
The three convicts — Yusuf Muhammad, also known as Sallau, a Nigerien national; Jabbi Alhaji Yalle; and Kabiru Muhammad — were sentenced to death by hanging by the Sokoto State High Court in June 2026.
They were arrested in June 2025 by the DSS Counter Terrorism Unit over alleged involvement in cross-border criminal activities, including arms trafficking and terrorism.
