On November 19, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja will continue the trial of two terrorism suspects, Mahmud Muhammad Usman and Abubakar Abba, who are wanted internationally.
Usman (aka Abu Bara’a) and Abba (aka Isah Adam and Mahmud Al-Nigeri) were captured in a high-risk, intelligence-led, counter-terrorism operation in July by the Department of State Services (DSS) (statutorily known as the Sate Security Service, SSS), after several months of chasing them.
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The two are believed to be leaders of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, commonly known as ANSARU, Nigeria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Usman, the self-styled Emir of ANSARU, allegedly coordinated various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria. He is also believed to have masterminded several high-profile kidnappings and robberies, the proceeds of which were used to finance terrorism over the years.
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Abba, Usman’s chief of staff and deputy, is alleged to have led the so-called “Mahmudawa” cell, which operated around the Kainji National Park, located on the border between the states of Niger and Kwara, as well as the Republic of Benin.
The Office of the National Security Adviser(ONSA), in a statement issued on August 16, claimed Mamuda received training in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. He is said to have specialised in weapons handling and IED fabrication.
Usman and Abba are being tried on a 32-count terrorism charge, and on which they were arraigned in late August. One of the counts related to illegal mining, to which Usman pleaded guilty and has since been sentenced to 15 years. Abba pleaded not guilty to all the 32 counts.
The DSS is also prosecuting another terror suspect, Khalid Al‑Barnawi, accused of being the mastermind of the August 26, 2011, bombing of the United Nations Complex in Abuja, in which 20 people were killed and more than 70 others injured.
Captured in 2016, Al Barnawi is facing trial along with four other terror suspects – Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Mohammed Bello aka Datti, Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu aka Bello Maishayi.
The trial has been delayed for an extended period due to legal and procedural issues, including the suspects being occasionally brought to court without any counsel appearing for them.
The DSS recently requested the court to grant accelerated hearing in the case, a request Justice Nwite granted.
On October 23 and 24, a trial-within-trial was conducted, during which videos of the defendants’ confessional statements were played in the courtroom.
On August 11, the DSS arraigned five men before a Federal High Court in Abuja over their alleged involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack at St. Francs Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State.
The five are: Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar.
Over 40 people died in the attack, while over 100 individuals sustained injuries.
The five defendants were arraigned on a nine-count terrorism charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, in which they are accused among others, of being members of Al Shabab terrorist group, with cell in Kogi State.
The defendants are also alleged to have carried out the attack in furtherance of their religious ideology.
They pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them, following which Justice Nwite ordered that they be remanded in the custody of the prosecuting agency.
In a ruling on September 10 the judge rejected their request for bail on the grounds that they were not only charged with offences that are capital in nature, they are also accused of being members of a notorious terrorist organisation.
Justice Nwite agreed with the prosecuting lawyer that the evidence against the defendants was strong and could not be overlooked.
The judge said the argument by the DSS that the defendants would jump bail was not disputed by them and deemed to be true.
Also undergoing trial are the suspects arrested in connection with the Yelwata massacre in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State on June 13 2025.
The attack, in which dozens of people were killed and 107 injured, drew worldwide condemnation. President Bola Tinubu paid a condolence visit to the state and demanded the arrest of the killers and attackers.
On June 24 2025, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, announced the arrest of 26 suspects in connection with the massacre.
In August 2025, the DSS filed terrorism-related charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja, against nine suspects. Two suspects, Haruna Adamu and Muhammad Abdullahi of Awe local government area of Nassarawa state, who are still at large, were charged with four counts of terrorism, among which is the concealment of information about the attacks, before they were staged in Abinsi and Yelwata villages between June 13th and 14th.
In total, the DSS filed six separate charges against the arrested suspects, who are now undergoing trial. They are Adamu and Abdullahi are Musa Beniyon, Bako Malowa, Ibrahim Tunga, Asara Ahnadu, Legu Musa, Adamu Yale, Boddi Ayuba, and Pyeure Damina.
The DSS also charged two other suspects, Terkende Ashuwa and Amos Alede of Guma local government area of Benue State, with three counts for allegedly carrying out reprisal attacks against the terror suspects involved in the Abinsi and Yelwata attacks.
Their trial, which is ongoing, before Justice Nwite’s court began with their arraignment in early September, with the defendants pleading not guilty.
Director General of the DSS, Tosin Ajayi, said;
” The various arrests and trials of terrorism suspects showed that Nigeria’s security agencies have been diligent in dealing with the perpetrators of terror in the country. The men we are prosecuting are separate from the hundreds of suspects under the military’s protective custody, whose cases are being handled by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. In July last year, 125 of the terrorists were convicted.
“We shall continue to make the suspects accountable for disrupting the peace of our country, in consonance with the rule of law.”
Favour Dozie.
Deputy Director, Public Relations and Strategic Communications
Department of State Services (DSS)
4 November, 2025
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