Terrorists sentenced to life in prison in Nigeria

In an answer two prayer, two senior leaders in an Islamist terrorist group have been sentenced to life in prison in Nigeria.

Terrorists in Nigeria usually get away with their crimes. There is usually a sense of impunity for those who attack Christian communities, killing, maiming, looting and destroying. All too seldom is anybody arrested, let alone sentenced, for these terrible acts of persecution against followers of Jesus.

That’s why it is such an answer to prayer that two men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for their roles in terrorist activity in Nigeria. Mahmud Usman and Abubakar Abba are senior leaders in the Ansaru terrorist group, and have admitted guilt to 32 charges of terrorism, coordinating attacks, funding terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and other related offences, including overseeing a network of sleeper cells in northern Nigeria. On top of life imprisonment, an additional 20-year prison term was added for the remaining counts. The pair denied the allegations for many months after their arrests in separate intelligence-led operations in May and July 2025, before changing their pleas to guilty this week.

The Ansaru terrorist group is an Islamist extremist group that emerged around 2012, initially as a splinter faction of Boko Haram. They now align themselves with al-Qaeda and its affiliate militant groups in the Sahel and Maghreb regions.

Teachers killed to demand release

In the lead up to the trial, intense pressure was put on the authorities to release the two men. Other members of the Ansaru group kidnapped 46 people from Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, and two teachers were beheaded in an attempt to force the authorities to release Usman and Abba.

“For the nearly 60 days the kidnappers held on to the pupils and teachers of Oriire, the Ansaru commanders in our custody changed,” said an official, quoted in the Nigerian newspaper Punch. “One of the top conditions the abductors gave was the unconditional release of these same Ansaru commanders in exchange for the Oriire kidnap victims.” According to the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian prosecuting agency, the accused only changed their pleas after the surviving people were rescued from captivity.

The DSS have said they will challenge the sentence, which they consider ‘too light’, at the Court of Appeal – asking them to take into account the two teachers who were murdered in captivity.

Attacks on Christian communities have been common in northern Nigeria for many years, but they are spreading further and further south. Oyo State is in the south west of the country and has a mix of Christians and Muslims, as well as those following local tribal religions.

Open Doors welcomes the outcome

John Samuel*, legal expert for Open Doors’ work in sub-Saharan Africa, says: “We welcome this decision that brought perpetrators of grave violence to account, and commend the Nigerian authorities for taking an important step to challenge the culture of impunity and demonstrate that justice is possible.” 

“We welcome this decision that brought perpetrators of grave violence to account.”

John Samuel, Open Doors

He adds: “At the same time, we urge the government to scale up such accountability efforts to match the widespread scale of violence across the country, ensuring justice for all victims.”

Justice is one of the central calls of the Arise Africa petition, which seeks protection, justice and restoration for vulnerable Christian communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Please keep praying for the petition, and for all affected by faith-based violence in Nigeria and across the region.

*Name changed for security reasons