DSS to appeal life sentence for Ansaru commanders
DSS to Appeal Life Sentences for Ansaru Terrorist Commanders
The Department of State Services (DSS) plans to appeal the life sentences handed down to two convicted commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group. Security analyst Zagazola Makama reported on Monday that the agency believes the sentences do not adequately reflect the severity of the offenders’ crimes.
On Monday, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Bara’a, and Mahmud Usman, alias Isah Adam/Mahmud, to life imprisonment after they pleaded guilty to a 32-count terrorism charge brought by the DSS on behalf of the Federal Government.
The court imposed life sentences for counts 30 and 31 of the charges, while the remaining counts resulted in 20-year prison terms, all set to commence from the date of their arrest.
Both individuals were prosecuted for various offenses, including terrorism, financing terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and orchestrating terrorist sleeper cells linked to extremist groups operating in the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
According to Makama, a senior official with the DSS expressed particular concern regarding the timing of the convicts’ guilty pleas, especially in relation to the rescue of schoolchildren and teachers abducted in Oriire, Oyo State. The official alleged that the kidnappers had demanded the release of the two Ansaru commanders in exchange for freeing the captives and that they had resorted to beheading two teachers to exert pressure on the government.
“The reason the terrorists beheaded the two Oriire teachers was to pressure the government into releasing the two Ansaru commanders,” the official stated. “It would be unjust for the families of those beheaded to endure such losses without ensuring that the culprits are fully held accountable.”
Given the circumstances surrounding the Oriire abduction and the professors’ killings, the DSS argues that the situation necessitates a harsher punishment than life imprisonment and plans to appeal the verdict at the Court of Appeal.
Abba and Usman were apprehended during separate DSS operations conducted between May and July 2025. Prior to the recent sentencing, Usman had pleaded guilty to a count of illegal mining related to financing terrorism and received a 15-year prison term.
