Two senior Ansaru commanders sentenced to life in Nigeria

Two senior commanders of the Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group Ansaru were sentenced to life imprisonment on Monday, July 20, 2026, after pleading guilty to a 32-count terrorism charge. Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja delivered the judgment, convicting Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Baraa, and Abubakar Abba, also known as Mahmud al-Nigeri or Malam Mamuda.

The two men, described as the group's self-proclaimed emir and his deputy, changed their initial pleas from not guilty to guilty on all counts. Justice Nwite sentenced both to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31, which specifically related to financing terrorism through proceeds from illegal mining and ransom payments. They each received an additional 20-year prison term on the remaining terrorism counts, with all sentences ordered to run concurrently from the date of their arrest. Usman had previously been convicted and sentenced to 15 years in prison on September 11, 2025, after pleading guilty to a separate count of illegal mining to fund terrorism.

The prosecution, led by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the federal government, detailed a range of alleged activities spanning...