Two Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists bag life sentences after pleading guilty

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By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

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ABUJA— Two commanders of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, Mahmud Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a) and Abubakar Abba (popularly called Mahmud Al-Nigeri or Isah Adam/Mallam Mamuda), were on Monday handed life sentences by a Federal High Court in Abuja.

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The duo were convicted after they pleaded guilty to a 32-count terrorism charge preferred against them by the Department of State Services (DSS).

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Trial Justice Emeka Nwite sentenced the convicts to life in prison on counts 30 and 31 of the charge, while they were handed a 20-year jail term on the rest of the charges.

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The court held that their jail term should commence from the date they were arrested.

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The DSS, in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/464/2025, alleged that Usman, who is from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, and Abba, who is from Daura LGA of Katsina State, aided and abetted terrorist attacks that occurred in the country between 2013 and 2015.

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The convicts were said to have conspired and agreed to serve as top commanders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan (JAMBS/Ansaru), a proscribed organisation in Nigeria that has links with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.

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They were further accused of receiving training in weapons handling, fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and war tactics from Jama’atu Nusratil Islami Wal Muslimin (JNIM), a Mali-based terrorist group.

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According to the DSS, the convicts participated in the 2022 attack on Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in New-Bussa, Niger State, which resulted in mass casualties.

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Usman was described as the “coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism.”

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The court, on September 11, 2025, convicted and sentenced the 1st defendant, Usman, to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a count in the charge that bordered on his alleged involvement in illegal mining activities.

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However, at the last adjourned date, the 2nd defendant, Abba, who had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, told the court that he was considering changing his plea.

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After he was allowed to have a brief discussion with his lawyer, Mr. Husseina Tukur, the defendant told the court that he had yet to make up his mind on his decision to enter a guilty plea.

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Although the prosecution counsel, Mr. David Kaswe, urged the court to proceed with the trial, stressing that the defendant had made a similar request in the past, Justice Nwite said he was minded to grant a short adjournment in the matter.

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At the resumed proceedings on Monday, both defendants entered a plea of guilty to the charges.

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The convicts, who were said to have collected ransom running into millions of naira from the families of their victims, were captured between May and July 2025 in intelligence-led operations by security agencies.

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Their arrest was announced on August 16 by the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, who disclosed that they had been on national and international terror watch lists.

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