The Department of State Services (DSS) has provided a comprehensive update on ongoing terrorism-related prosecutions across Nigeria, reaffirming its commitment to justice and national security.
The agency confirmed that the trial of two high-profile terrorism suspects — Mahmud Muhammad Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a) and Abubakar Abba (also known as Isah Adam and Mahmud Al-Nigeri) — will continue on November 19 before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The duo, described as key leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi Biladis Sudan (ANSARU), an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria, were captured in a high-risk intelligence operation in July after months of surveillance. Usman, alleged to be the Emir of ANSARU, reportedly coordinated sleeper cells and financed terrorism through kidnappings and robberies. Abba, said to be his deputy, allegedly led the “Mahmudawa” cell operating around Kainji National Park, spanning Niger and Kwara states and extending into Benin Republic.
According to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Usman received training in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. He is said to be skilled in weapons handling and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication.
Both men are facing 32 counts of terrorism, including illegal mining. Usman has already been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count, while Abba pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The DSS also provided updates on the ongoing prosecution of Khalid Al-Barnawi, alleged mastermind of the 2011 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, which killed 20 people and injured more than 70. Al-Barnawi and four co-defendants are being tried before Justice Nwite, but the case has faced multiple delays due to procedural challenges, including the absence of defence counsel at previous hearings.
The court recently granted a DSS request for an accelerated hearing, with trial sessions held on October 23 and 24, during which videos of the defendants’ confessional statements were played.
In another case, the DSS said five men have been arraigned over their alleged involvement in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where over 40 people were killed and more than 100 injured.
The suspects — Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al-Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar — were arraigned on a nine-count charge of terrorism. They are accused of being members of the Al-Shabab terror network and carrying out the attack to advance extremist ideology. All five pleaded not guilty, and their bail application was rejected by Justice Nwite, who ruled that the offences were capital in nature and the evidence against them substantial.
The DSS also confirmed ongoing trials of suspects arrested for the Yelwata massacre in Benue State’s Guma Local Government Area on June 13, 2025, where dozens were killed and over 100 injured. President Bola Tinubu visited the state to console victims and directed the immediate arrest of the perpetrators.
Following extensive investigations, the police arrested 26 suspects, and the DSS later charged nine individuals before the Federal High Court in Abuja for terrorism-related offences. Two others, Haruna Adamu and Muhammad Abdullahi, remain at large.
Two additional suspects — Terkende Ashuwa and Amos Alede — are being prosecuted for alleged reprisal attacks linked to the same violence. All defendants have pleaded not guilty, and their trials are ongoing.
Speaking on the developments, DSS Director-General Tosin Ajayi said the prosecutions demonstrate the diligence of Nigeria’s security agencies in countering terrorism through lawful means.
“The various arrests and trials of terrorism suspects show that Nigeria’s security agencies are diligent in dealing with those who disrupt our peace,” Ajayi said. “These cases are separate from the hundreds of suspects under military custody, whose prosecutions are being handled by the Office of the Attorney-General. In July last year, 125 terrorists were convicted.”
Ajayi assured Nigerians that the DSS would continue to pursue justice “in consonance with the rule of law.”
