The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday sentenced two suspected Ansaru commanders to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to 32 terrorism-related charges.
The convicts, Abubakar Abba (also known as Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud Usman (also known as Isah Adam and Mahmud), were prosecuted by the State Security Service (SSS) on behalf of the federal government.
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Judge Emeka Nwite handed down the verdict after the convicts, who were captured last year by Nigerian security forces, changed their earlier “not guilty” to “guilty” to all 32 counts brought against them.
The judge sentenced them to life imprisonment for two counts numbered counts 30 and 31.
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He also sentenced them to 20 years’ imprisonment without the option of a fine on counts one to nine, 11 to 29 and 32. In addition, the judge sentenced Mr Abba to 15 years’ imprisonment on count 10, the same sentence earlier imposed on Mr Usman on that count.
The judge ordered that all the prison terms should run concurrently from the date of their arrest.
SSS initially arraigned the two suspected Ansaru commanders before the court on 32 terrorism-related charges on 11 September 2025.
The 32 counts included terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, funding terrorism, fabricating improvised explosive devices and related offences.
The prosecution also alleged that they coordinated sleeper cells, orchestrated attacks and maintained links with Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups operating across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
During last year’s arraignment, Mr Usman pleaded guilty to one count of illegal mining, proceeds of which they allegedly used to finance terrorism. Judge Nwite convicted him on that count and sentenced him to 15 years’ imprisonment. Mr Usman, however, pleaded not guilty to the remaining 31 counts.
At the time, Mr Abba pleaded not guilty to all 32 counts. The judge then ordered both defendants remanded in SSS custody pending the conclusion of the trial.
The trial later stalled after defence lawyer Bala Dakum complained that SSS officials denied him access to the defendants to prepare their defence.
When proceedings resumed in March, the prosecution opened its case with testimony from an SSS operative identified by the codename “Triple A.”
The witness told the court that the defendants confessed to receiving weapons training in Libya, admitted belonging to Ansaru and maintained links with terrorist groups operating across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
On 9 July, Mr Abba, the defendant who denied all 32 counts, informed the court that he wanted to reconsider his not-guilty plea.
Judge Nwite adjourned proceedings until Monday (today) to enable Mr Abba to make a final decision.
On Monday, both defendants opted to change their pleas.
The judge directed all the 32 charges to be read to them afresh.
They both pleaded guilty to each count as court officials read them out one after the other to the two of them.
Plea for mercy
After the defendants’ guilty plea, Mr Kaswe urged the court to convict them under Section 274 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015, which governs the procedure and legal effect when a defendant enters a plea of guilty.
The prosecution lawyer said the defendants’ guilty-plea was clear and unequivocal.
But Mr Dakum, the defence lawyer, urged the court to temper justice with mercy.
He said his clients had accepted responsibility for their actions and were genuinely remorseful.
The lawyer said Mr Usman, who is 50 years old and has 19 children, suffers from arthritis and hopes to return to school if given another chance.
He also told the court that Mr Abba, 34, has a wife and three children, suffers from arthritis and is the family’s breadwinner.
Mr Dakum further said the defendants claimed they were coerced into joining the terrorist group and that they were willing to assist security agencies with intelligence on terrorist networks, financing and operations.
He argued that punishment should not only serve as retribution but also as a means of rehabilitation.
Mr Usman, one of the defendants, also spoke for himself and his co-defendant, apologising for their actions. He said they decided to plead guilty because they were remorseful and did not want to waste the court’s time.
He appealed for mercy, citing his health condition and family responsibilities.
In his judgement, the judge convicted the defendants on all 32 counts. He said he considered the allocutus by the defence lawyer and the plea by Mr Usman. He, however, imposed life imprisonment on the two defendants for counts 30 and 31 and other prison terms on the remaining counts.
Arrest
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, announced the arrest of the defendants during a news conference in mid-August 2025.
Mr Ribadu said their capture followed a high-risk, intelligence-led, multi-agency operation conducted between May and July 2025.
He described the arrests as a major breakthrough, saying they marked the beginning of the end of impunity for terrorist leaders in Nigeria. He added that the men had long been on both national and international terror watch lists.
The two were identified as among the most wanted Ansaru commanders.
Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group, has been linked to numerous high-profile attacks and kidnappings across the country.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: Captured ‘Ansaru leaders’ make U-turn, plead guilty to 32 terrorism charges
Charges
The defendants were charged with terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, financing terrorism, manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and related offences.
The SSS alleged that they coordinated sleeper cells, orchestrated attacks and maintained links with Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups operating across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
Counts 30 and 31, for which the defendants received life imprisonment, accused them of financing terrorism with proceeds from illegal mining and ransom payments collected from kidnapping victims between 2015 and 2025.
The prosecution alleged that the funds were used to procure arms and explosives.
The SSS also accused the defendants of involvement in several major terrorist attacks and kidnappings, including the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 kidnapping of Musa Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura, and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
The agency further alleged that the defendants participated in the 2022 attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State, and linked Ansaru militants to the July 2022 attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja, during which more than 600 inmates escaped.
