The Department of State Service (SSS) has re-arraigned Husseni Ismaila (aka Maitangaran), the alleged mastermind of the 2014 multiple bomb attacks in Kano, Kano State.
The defendant was rearraigned at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, November 15.
When the matter was called, the prosecuting counsel, E.A. Aduda, told the court that the SSS had filed an amended charge of four counts against the defendant. He asked the court to order that the charge should be read to the defendant and he should take his plea.
The defendant pleaded not guilty to all four count charges, which read:
“That you Husseni Ismaila, alias Maitangaran, 34-year-old male, professed to be a member of Boko Haram, a terrorist group, therefore contravening provisions of the Terrorism Prevention Act 2013, and punishable under the same Act.
“That you Husseni Ismaila, alias Maitangaran, 34-year-old, male, in 2014, directly participated in an act of terrorism and made a video message confessing to the crime of bombing the Kano Central Mosque.
“This led to the death of many Nigerians, including police personnel. The act contravened Section 1(2) (8) of the Terrorism Prevention Act, 2013, and is punishable under the same Act.”
The prosecuting counsel asked the court to proceed with the trial in view of the not-guilty plea of the defendant.
The defence counsel, Peter Dajang, however, told the court that the trial should not go on because the prosecution had flouted a valid order of the court.
According to Dajang, the court, on 6 December 2021, ordered the prosecution to transfer the defendant from its custody to the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja
The prosecuting counsel, however, told the court that the order had yet to be complied with because he had filed an application praying the court to vary the order.
The judge adjourned the matter till 25 January 2024 to rule on the application to vary the order it made that the defendant be transferred to Kuje.
He also fixed 7 February 2024 for continuation of the substantive matter.
