Two senior commanders of the proscribed terrorist group Ansaru have been sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty to terrorism and kidnapping charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The judgment came shortly after the pair admitted guilt to a 32-count charge brought against them by the Department of State Services (DSS), according to Channels Television.
The convicted men, identified as Mammuda and Abu Baraa, were arrested by the DSS and arraigned in September 2025 over their alleged roles in several terrorist attacks and high-profile kidnappings across Nigeria.
The court heard that the duo participated in the 2022 attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State, and received specialised training in weapons handling, improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication and war tactics, including training in Mali and Libya.
Prosecutors also linked the pair to the July 2022 Kuje prison attack, which resulted in the escape of more than 600 inmates. They were further accused of planning the attack on the Niger uranium facility and orchestrating several kidnappings, including that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013 and the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura.
National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu had announced their arrest in August 2025, describing Abu Baraa as the self-styled leader of Ansaru and Mammuda as his deputy and chief of staff. He said both men had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years and played central roles in coordinating terrorist sleeper cells and financing terrorism through kidnappings and armed robberies.
Ansaru, which emerged in 2012 as a splinter faction of Boko Haram, has been linked to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and has carried out attacks on security personnel, civilians and critical infrastructure across northern Nigeria.
The life sentences mark a significant milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to dismantle the leadership of the terrorist organisation.
