Ansaru Commander bags life imprisonment for terrorism

The Abuja Federal High Court has sentenced Abubakar Abba, commander of the Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Ansaru, to life imprisonment on terrorism charges brought by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Abba, also known as Abu Bara, was convicted alongside co-defendant Mahmud Usman, alias Isah Adam/Mahmud, after both pleaded guilty on Monday to a 32-count terrorism charge filed by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the sentence, handing both men life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31, and 20 years each on the remaining counts.

The judge ordered that sentences on the other counts run from the date of their arrest.
DSS operatives arrested the pair separately between May and July 2025.

The charges included terrorism and terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, fabricating improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and coordinating sleeper cells and attacks.
Prosecutors also linked the men to terrorist networks in the Sahel-Maghreb region.

At arraignment, Usman had separately pleaded guilty to a single count of illegal mining to fund terrorism and arms procurement, for which he was sentenced to 15 years.