Court jails two Ansaru commanders for life over terrorism as DSS sets to appeal, seeks death penalty
The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday sentenced two commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated organisation, to life imprisonment.
The duo pleaded guilty to terrorism charges filed against them by the Department of State Services on behalf of the Federal Government.
The convicts, Mahmud Usman, also known as Isah Adam, and Abubakar Abba, alias Abu Bara, were convicted by Justice Emeka Nwite after admitting guilt to a 32-count charge bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing and related offences.
Justice Nwite sentenced both men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31 of the charge.
He also imposed 20 years’ imprisonment on each of the remaining counts and ordered that the jail terms should run from the dates of their arrest.
The DSS arrested the two men in separate operations between May and July 2025.
The charges against them included terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining to fund terrorism, fabrication of improvised explosive devices, and other related offences.
The Federal Government also accused the convicts of coordinating sleeper cells, carrying out attacks and maintaining operational links with terrorist groups across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
Court records showed that Usman had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of illegal mining for the purpose of financing terrorism and procuring arms.
He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on that count while initially pleading not guilty to the remaining 31 counts.
Abba had also initially pleaded not guilty to all 32 counts.
At the last hearing on July 9, Abba indicated his willingness to change his plea but later expressed reservations before eventually admitting guilt.
The two defendants ultimately pleaded guilty to all the counts, paving the way for Justice Nwite to convict and sentence them in accordance with the law.
DSS Set To Appeal Life Sentence On Ansaru Terror Commanders, Seeks Maximum Penalty
The Department of State Services (DSS) is set to appeal Monday’s life sentence handed to two top commanders of the Ansaru terror organisation by a Federal High Court, Abuja.
Justice Emeka Nwite had, shortly after Mahmud Usman, a.k.a Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar, the self-styled Emir of Ansaru; and Abubakar Abba, a.k.a Mahmud al-Nigeri/Malam Mamuda, pleaded guilty to all the 32-count charges against them, sentenced both men to life imprisonment.
However, a top official of the DSS said the security agency considered the life sentence as too light a punishment for the crimes allegedly committed by the Ansaru commanders.
The official said the Service found it curious that both convicts were on the verge of pleading guilty to the charges, but changed their minds shortly after some persons believed to be members of the same Ansaru organisation kidnapped pupils and teachers in Oriire, Oyo State.
“For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held on to the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed.
“One of the top conditions the abductors gave was the unconditional release of these same Ansaru commanders in exchange for the Oriire kidnap victims,” the DSS official said.
“From ‘not guilty plea,’ the two men, at the penultimate court session, said they were undecided on what plea to take. Justice Nwite even had to hand them an ultimatum to make up their minds on or before Monday’s sitting.
“After the Oriire rescue, they came to court to plead guilty to all the charges,” the official added.
According to the top official, allowing the two terror commanders to walk away with life sentences would not serve the cause of justice for the two Oriire teachers beheaded by their abductors.
“The reason the terrorists beheaded the two Oriire teachers was to put pressure on the government to release these two Ansaru commanders. It, therefore, wouldn’t be fair to see two men beheaded and their families made to live with the losses without adequately bringing the culprits to book,” the official said.
The Federal High Court in Abuja had 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 Nwite handed down the sentence after convicting them 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.
