The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated extremist organisation, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism-related offences.

Justice Emeka Nwite convicted Abubakar Abba (Abu Baraa) and Mahmud Usman (Mamuda) on a 32-count charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS), including terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining and the manufacture of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).

The court imposed life sentences on counts 30 and 31, alongside 20-year prison terms on the remaining counts, which are to run from the date of their arrest.

According to the prosecution, the duo were among Ansaru’s top leaders and were arrested in separate intelligence-led operations between May and July 2025 after years on Nigeria’s most-wanted list. They were accused of coordinating terrorist sleeper cells across the country and maintaining links with extremist groups in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

The charges also linked them to major terrorist attacks and kidnappings, including the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, and several kidnappings used to finance terrorist activities.

The Office of the National Security Adviser had described Abu Baraa as Ansaru’s leader and Mamuda as his deputy, with both overseeing sleeper cells across northern Nigeria. Authorities said their convictions represent one of Nigeria’s most significant terrorism prosecutions in recent years and a major blow to the group’s leadership.