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The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two senior members of the Ansaru terrorist group, an al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist organisation, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to terrorism-related offences.
Justice Emeka Nwite handed down the sentence on Friday after convicting Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Barra, and Mahmud Usman on a 32-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.
The charges included terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other terrorism-related offences.
The court sentenced both men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31 of the charge, while imposing an additional 20-year prison term on each of the remaining counts.
Justice Nwite ordered that the prison terms on the other counts should run from the date of the defendants’ arrest.
According to the prosecution, the two convicts served as commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group and were involved in coordinating sleeper cells, facilitating terrorist attacks and maintaining operational links with extremist groups across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
The DSS said the pair were arrested in separate intelligence-led operations conducted between May and July 2025.
The prosecution also alleged that the convicts financed terrorist activities through illegal mining and were involved in the manufacture of improvised explosive devices used in attacks.
Court records further showed that Mahmud Usman had earlier pleaded guilty to a separate count of illegal mining for the purpose of funding terrorism and procuring arms, for which he was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.
The latest judgment marks another conviction secured under Nigeria’s terrorism laws as authorities continue efforts to prosecute individuals linked to terrorist financing and violent extremist groups.
