The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two suspected commanders of the terrorist group Ansaru to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to 32 terrorism-related charges brought against them by the Federal Government.
The convicts, Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud Usman, who is also known by the aliases Isah Adam and Mahmud, were prosecuted by the State Security Service (SSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the judgment on Monday after both men changed their earlier pleas of not guilty and admitted to all 32 counts filed against them.
The court sentenced the two men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31. Justice Nwite also handed each of them 20-year prison terms on the remaining counts and ordered that all the sentences should run from the date of their arrest.
The SSS first arraigned the defendants before the Federal High Court on September 11, 2025, on a 32-count charge bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, funding terrorism, manufacturing improvised explosive devices and other related offences.
According to the prosecution, the two men coordinated sleeper cells, planned attacks and maintained operational links with Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist groups operating across the Sahel and Maghreb regions. They initially denied the charges when they were first arraigned.
The trial later suffered delays after defence counsel, Bala Dakum, informed the court that officials of the SSS had prevented him from meeting with his clients to prepare their defence.
When the case resumed, the prosecution opened its case with evidence from an SSS operative identified only by the codename “Triple A.” The witness told the court that the defendants admitted receiving weapons training in Libya, confessed to being members of Ansaru and acknowledged maintaining ties with terrorist organisations operating across the Sahel and Maghreb.
Earlier on Monday, the defendants asked the court to allow them change their pleas. Justice Nwite subsequently directed that all 32 charges be read to them afresh. As each count was read in open court, both men pleaded guilty.
The convictions come weeks after the names of the two suspects surfaced during negotiations involving the abduction of schoolchildren and teachers in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State.
The terrorists who kidnapped 39 schoolchildren and seven teachers from Ahoro-Esinle, Yawota and Alawusa communities had initially demanded the release of detained Ansaru commanders, payment of ransom, the provision of two Hilux vehicles and the implementation of Sharia-related laws.
Among those whose freedom they demanded were Usman and his deputy, Abba, both of whom had been arrested by operatives of state authorities last year. The two men are regarded as senior members of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fi Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), a breakaway faction of Boko Haram.
The schoolchildren and teachers were abducted on May 15, 2026, after terrorists attacked three schools in Oriire Local Government Area. They spent 56 days in captivity before they were eventually rescued by security forces.
