There was widespread celebration in parts of northern Nigeria on Tuesday following the conviction and life imprisonment of two senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, an Al-Qaeda-linked extremist organisation.

The Federal High Court in Abuja sentenced Abubakar Abba, also known as Abu Bara, and his co-defendant, Mahmud Usman, also known as Isah Adam or Mahmud, after they pleaded guilty to a 32-count terrorism charge filed by the Department of State Services (DSS) on behalf of the Federal Government.

Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite sentenced both men to life imprisonment on counts 30 and 31, while imposing 20-year prison terms on each of the remaining counts. The court ordered that the sentences on the other counts should run from the date of their arrest.

The DSS arrested the suspects separately between May and July 2025.

The charges against the convicts included terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and coordinating sleeper cells and terrorist attacks. Prosecutors also linked them to terrorist networks operating across the Sahel-Maghreb region.

Earlier in the proceedings, Usman had pleaded guilty to a separate one-count charge of illegal mining to finance terrorism and procure arms. He was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on that charge.

The judgment was welcomed by some Nigerians and civil society groups. The Concerned Nigerians (CN), led by Paul Orji, described the ruling as a positive step in the fight against terrorism.

“It’s in the right direction to checkmate and eliminate terrorism in Nigeria. Nigerians are jubilating and celebrating the beginning of peace in the country,” Orji said.