Abuja court sentences Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists to life imprisonment

Abubakar Abba, the commander of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, prosecuted for alleged terrorism by the Department of the State Service, DSS, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the  Abuja Federal High Court.

Abba, aka Abu Bara, bagged the life jail along his co-accused, Mahmud Usman aka Isah Adam/Mahmud on Monday when they pleaded guilty to the 32-count terrorism charge brought against them by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.

Justice Emeka Nwite handed down the jail term while delivering judgment in the case.

The two convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment in counts 30 and 31 while they were sentenced to 20 years in the rest of the charges.

The judge ordered that the jail term on the other counts should commence from the date of their arrest.

The convicts were arrested in separate operations between May and July 2025 by the DSS.

‎They were slammed with a 32-count terrorism charge, including terrorism and terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, funding terrorism, fabricating Improvised Explosive Devices, IED, among other charges.

They were accused of coordinating sleeper cells, attacks, and ties to groups in the Sahel/Maghreb.

‎On arraignment, Usman had pleaded guilty to one-count of illegal mining for funding terrorism/arms and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.