Court sentences Ansaru leaders to life imprisonment over terrorism, kidnapping

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced two senior leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group, an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist organisation, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to a 32-count charge bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining and the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Monday, convicting Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Bara, and Mahmud Usman, also known as Isah Adam, Abbas, Mukhtar or Mahmud Al-Nigeri, after both defendants voluntarily changed their earlier not-guilty pleas and admitted all the charges brought against them by the Department of State Services (DSS).

The court sentenced the convicts to life imprisonment on Counts 30 and 31, while imposing 20-year prison terms on each of the remaining counts. Justice Nwite further ordered that the prison terms on the other counts should take effect from the date of their arrest.

The conviction followed months of trial after the defendants initially denied the allegations when they were first arraigned before the court in September 2025. However, during Monday’s proceedings, defence counsel informed the court that the defendants had decided to abandon their previous pleas and admit responsibility for all the offences.

After confirming that the guilty pleas were made voluntarily and in accordance with the law, the court convicted both men on all 32 counts before proceeding to sentence them.

The DSS had accused the defendants of occupying senior leadership positions within Ansaru, a terrorist organisation affiliated with Al-Qaeda and linked to several attacks, kidnappings and terrorist operations across northern Nigeria and parts of the Sahel.

According to the prosecution, Mahmud Usman served as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, while Abubakar Abba was identified as the group’s deputy leader and chief of staff.

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The charges included terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, manufacturing improvised explosive devices (IEDs), funding terrorist operations, coordinating sleeper cells and maintaining operational links with extremist groups across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.

During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence through a DSS operative identified only by the codename “Triple A.” The witness testified that both defendants confessed to receiving advanced weapons and explosives training in Libya from instructors connected to extremist networks operating in Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

The witness further told the court that the defendants admitted membership of the Ansaru group and confessed to participating in kidnapping operations, illegal mining used to finance terrorist activities and the coordination of terrorist cells operating within and outside Nigeria.

Court records also showed that Mahmud Usman had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of illegal mining allegedly used to finance terrorism and was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on that count before the trial continued on the remaining charges.

The two convicts were arrested during separate intelligence-led operations conducted between May and July 2025, an exercise that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had described as one of Nigeria’s most significant breakthroughs against the Ansaru terrorist network.

Announcing the arrests in 2025, Ribadu said the operations disrupted key leadership figures within the group and reflected improved collaboration among Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies in combating terrorism.

Security experts say Monday’s judgment represents another major milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to dismantle terrorist leadership structures through intelligence-driven investigations and successful prosecutions.

The conviction also reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to pursuing individuals involved not only in violent extremist activities but also in terrorism financing, illegal mining and other criminal enterprises used to sustain insurgent groups.

Ansaru, formally known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan, emerged as a splinter faction of Boko Haram and has maintained ideological and operational links with Al-Qaeda. The group has been blamed for numerous attacks on security personnel, kidnappings for ransom and assaults on civilian communities in northern Nigeria over the past decade.

The Federal Government has intensified military operations, intelligence gathering and criminal prosecutions against Ansaru, Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) as part of broader efforts to restore peace and dismantle terrorist networks across the North-East and North-West.

The latest judgment is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s counter-terrorism campaign by demonstrating that individuals involved in terrorism-related offences will face the full weight of the law.

Court sentences Ansaru leaders to life imprisonment over terrorism, kidnapping