The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism-related offences.
Justice Emeka Nwite convicted Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Baraa, and Mahmud Usman, popularly called Mamuda, 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 offences linked to terrorist operations.
The judge sentenced both men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31 and imposed additional 20-year prison terms on the remaining counts. Justice Nwite ordered that the other jail terms should run from the date of their arrest.
According to prosecutors, the pair were among the most senior leaders of Ansaru, an extremist group designated by the Nigerian government and regarded as an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The DSS said the suspects were arrested in separate intelligence-led operations after spending years on Nigeria’s most-wanted list.
At the trial, the Federal Government accused the two men of coordinating terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and maintaining operational links with extremist groups in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
Prosecutors also alleged that the defendants played central roles in several major terrorist attacks and kidnappings, including the attack on the Kuje Medium Security Custodial Centre in Abuja, where more than 600 inmates escaped, and the assault on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Niger State.
The prosecution further linked the men to the abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, the kidnapping of the Magajin Garin Daura, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, and several other kidnappings and armed robberies allegedly carried out to finance terrorist activities.
Court documents also alleged that investigators uncovered plans by the defendants to attack a uranium facility in Niger State and found evidence that they had received specialised training in weapons handling, battlefield tactics and the production of improvised explosive devices at terrorist camps in Mali and Libya.
Before their arrest, the Office of the National Security Adviser identified Abu Baraa as Ansaru’s self-proclaimed leader and Mamuda as his deputy and chief of staff.
National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu described their arrest as “one of Nigeria’s most significant counterterrorism breakthroughs”, saying it dealt “a decisive blow” to the group’s leadership structure.
The convictions are among the most significant terrorism prosecutions secured by Nigerian authorities against the leadership of the extremist organisation in recent years.
