The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, an al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist organisation, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism-related offences.
Justice Emeka Nwite handed down the sentence after convicting Abubakar Abba, popularly known as Abu Baraa, and Mahmud Usman, also known as Mamuda, on a 32-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
The charges included terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other offences linked to terrorist operations.
The court sentenced both men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31, while imposing additional 20-year prison terms on the remaining counts. Justice Nwite ordered that the sentences on the other counts should take effect from the date of their arrest.
According to the prosecution, the two men were among the most senior leaders of Ansaru, a terrorist group designated by the Nigerian government and widely regarded as an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The DSS arrested the suspects in separate intelligence-led operations between May and July 2025 after years on Nigeria’s most-wanted list.
At their arraignment in September 2025, the Federal Government accused the duo of coordinating terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and maintaining operational links with extremist groups operating in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Prosecutors alleged that the two commanders played key roles in some of the country’s most significant terrorist attacks and kidnappings over the past decade.
