By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA — The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday adjourned until July 20 the trial of two alleged commanders of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group.
The defendants, Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, and Abubakar Abba, popularly called Mahmud Al-Nigeri or Isah Adam/Mallam Mamuda, are answering to terrorism charges preferred against them by the Department of the State Service (DSS).
Ansaru, a breakaway faction of the Boko Haram terrorist group, was linked to several high-profile attacks and kidnappings across the country.
The DSS, in the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/464/2025, alleged that Usman, who is from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, and Abba, who is from Daura LGA of Katsina State, aided and abetted terrorist attacks that occurred in the country between 2013 and 2015.
The defendants were said to have conspired and agreed to serve as top commanders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan (JAMBS/Ansaru), a proscribed organisation in Nigeria that has links with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.
They were further accused of receiving training in weapons handling, fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and war tactics from Jama’atu Nusratil Islami Wal Muslimin (JNIM), a Mali-based terrorist group.
According to the DSS, the defendants participated in the 2022 attack on Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in New-Bussa, Niger State, which resulted in mass casualties.
Usman was described as the “coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism.”
The defendants were slammed with a 32-count charge.
The court, on September 11, 2025, convicted and sentenced the 1st defendant, Usman, to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to a count in the charge that bordered on his alleged involvement in illegal mining activities.
However, at the resumed proceedings in the case on Thursday, the 2nd defendant, Abba, who initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, told the court that he was considering changing his plea.
After he was allowed to have a brief discussion with his lawyer, Mr. Husseina Tukur, the defendant told the court that he had yet to make up his mind on his decision to enter a guilty plea.
Although the prosecution counsel, Mr. David Kaswe, urged the court to proceed with the trial, stressing that the defendant had also made a similar request in the past, Justice Emeka Nwite said he was minded to grant a short adjournment in the matter.
The defendants, who were said to have collected ransom running into millions of naira from the families of their victims, were captured between May and July 2025 in intelligence-led operations by security agencies.
Their arrest was announced on August 16 by the National Security Adviser, NSA, Nuhu Ribadu, who disclosed that they had been on national and international terror watch lists.
