Court Sentences Two Ansaru Leaders to Life in Prison for Terrorism

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two suspected Ansaru commanders to life imprisonment. This happened on Monday after they admitted guilt to 32 terrorism-related charges.

The two convicts are Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud Usman, who is also called Isah Adam and Mahmud. The State Security Service (SSS) prosecuted them on behalf of the federal government.

Judge Emeka Nwite delivered the verdict after the men, who Nigerian security forces captured last year, changed their initial plea from “not guilty” to “guilty” on Monday.

The judge sentenced both men to life imprisonment for counts 30 and 31. He also gave them 20 years in prison for each of the other counts. The terms will start from the date they were arrested.

The SSS had first brought the two suspected Ansaru leaders to court on 11 September 2025. They faced 32 charges related to terrorism.

These charges included terrorism, financing terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, and making improvised explosive devices. The agency also said they managed sleeper cells and planned attacks while being connected to Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in the Sahel and Maghreb regions.

Initially, they had pleaded not guilty to the charges. The trial faced delays when the defence lawyer, Bala Dakum, said SSS officials did not allow him to see his clients to prepare their defence.

When the trial resumed, the prosecution began with a witness from the SSS, who went by the codename “Triple A.”

The witness testified that the defendants confessed to receiving weapons training in Libya. They also admitted to being part of Ansaru and to having connections with terrorist groups in the Sahel and Maghreb regions.

According to PREMIUM TIMES, the two men changed their not-guilty pleas earlier on Monday. The court then ordered the 32 charges to be read to them again.

They pleaded guilty to all 32 counts as the court officials read each charge to them one by one.