The Department of State Services (DSS) has given an update on several ongoing terrorism prosecutions, reaffirming its commitment to ensuring that those behind acts of terror across Nigeria are brought to justice.
According to the DSS, multiple high-profile trials are currently before Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, involving key terror suspects linked to notorious attacks and extremist organisations.
One of the major cases is that of Mahmud Muhammad Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a) and Abubakar Abba (also known as Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri), alleged leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (ANSARU), an Al-Qaeda affiliate operating in Nigeria.
The duo, who were captured in a July 2025 intelligence-led counterterrorism operation, are facing a 32-count terrorism charge. The trial is set to continue on November 19.
Usman, described as the self-proclaimed Emir of ANSARU, allegedly coordinated sleeper terror cells nationwide and financed attacks through kidnapping and robbery. Abba, his deputy, reportedly led the “Mahmudawa” cell that operated around the Kainji National Park, spanning Niger and Kwara States as well as the Benin Republic border region.
The Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) earlier revealed that Usman received weapons and explosives training in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors.
While Usman pleaded guilty to one count of illegal mining and received a 15-year prison sentence, both men continue to face terrorism-related charges. Abba has pleaded not guilty.
Another major prosecution involves Khalid Al-Barnawi, alleged mastermind of the August 26, 2011 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Abuja, which killed 20 people and injured more than 70.
Al-Barnawi, captured in 2016, is being tried alongside Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Mohammed Bello (aka Datti), Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu (aka Bello Maishayi). The case has suffered delays due to legal complications, including the suspects’ repeated court appearances without legal representation.
Following a DSS request for accelerated hearing, Justice Nwite granted the motion, and on October 23 and 24, a trial-within-trial was conducted, during which the defendants’ confessional videos were played in court.
The DSS is also prosecuting five men allegedly involved in the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State, in which over 40 worshippers were killed and more than 100 injured.
The suspects-Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al-Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar, face nine counts of terrorism, including membership of the Al-Shabab terrorist group in Kogi State. They pleaded not guilty and have been remanded in DSS custody after their bail request was denied.
Justice Nwite ruled that the offences were capital in nature and that the DSS had provided compelling evidence that the defendants could abscond if granted bail.
Additionally, suspects arrested in connection with the June 13, 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue State, where dozens were killed and 107 injured, are also undergoing trial before the same court.
Following President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the arrest of the perpetrators, the DSS charged nine suspects with terrorism-related offences. Among them are Musa Beniyon, Bako Malowa, Ibrahim Tunga, Asara Ahnadu, Legu Musa, Adamu Yale, Boddi Ayuba, and Pyeure Damina. Two others, Haruna Adamu and Muhammad Abdullahi from Nasarawa State, remain at large.
The Service also charged Terkende Ashuwa and Amos Alede of Guma Local Government Area with launching reprisal attacks against the Yelwata assailants. Their trial commenced in September, with both pleading not guilty.
In a statement, the Director-General of the DSS, Tosin Ajayi, said the ongoing prosecutions highlight the Service’s commitment to accountability and justice under the rule of law.
“The various arrests and trials of terrorism suspects show that Nigeria’s security agencies are diligently confronting the perpetrators of terror,” Ajayi stated.
“The men we are prosecuting are separate from the hundreds of suspects under the military’s protective custody, whose cases are being handled by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation. In July last year, 125 of the terrorists were convicted,” he added.
He reaffirmed that the DSS would not relent in pursuing justice for victims of terrorism across the country.
“We shall continue to make suspects accountable for disrupting the peace of our country, in consonance with the rule of law,” Ajayi added.
