Nigeria’s secret police, the State Security Services (SSS), has released an unusually detailed update on ongoing terrorism trials, including the long-delayed prosecution of Khalid al-Barnawi, the alleged mastermind of the 2011 bombing of the United Nations building in Abuja.
The update, issued on Monday by SSS spokesperson Favour Dozie, comes amid rising tension in Nigeria’s political and security circles following former U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats of economic and military action against Nigeria over killings of Christians.
While the government denies genocide of Christians, thousands have been killed by suspected Islamist terror groups and Fulani herders in mostly Christian communities of Benue, Borno, Plateau, and Kaduna states in the last decade. Muslims have also been killed in other parts of the country, especially in North-west states of Zamfara, Sokoto and Katsina by the so-called bandits.
The agency’s sudden transparency is seen as demonstrating progress in high-profile terrorism cases. In its statement, the SSS said that on November 19, the Federal High Court in Abuja will resume the trial of two alleged leaders of Ansaru, Nigeria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate.
The suspects – Mahmud Muhammad Usman (alias Abu Bara’a) and Abubakar Abba (alias Isah Adam) – were captured in July after what the agency described as a “high-risk, intelligence-led operation.”
The SSS said Usman, who styled himself as “Emir of Ansaru,” coordinated several terrorist sleeper cells across the country and financed attacks through kidnappings and robberies. His deputy, Abba, allegedly led a faction known as the “Mahmudawa cell,” which operated around Kainji National Park, near the Niger–Benin border.
Both men face a 32-count terrorism charge. Usman has already been sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count related to illegal mining — a revenue source linked to terror financing. Abba pleaded not guilty to all charges.
2011 UN Bombing Case
The SSS also confirmed that it is prosecuting Khalid al-Barnawi, who allegedly masterminded the August 2011 attack on the United Nations complex in Abuja that killed 20 people and injured more than 70.
Al-Barnawi, arrested in 2016, is being tried alongside four others. The case has stalled for years due to procedural delays, including the repeated absence of defense counsel. A month ago, the court granted an accelerated hearing.
The statement also highlighted progress in other terrorism trials.
Among them is the case of five men accused of carrying out the June 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, which killed more than 40 people. The SSS said the suspects, alleged members of the Al-Shabab cell in Kogi State, have pleaded not guilty and remain in custody after a judge denied them bail in September.
The agency also cited prosecutions linked to the Yelwata massacre in Benue State in June 2025, in which dozens were killed and over 100 injured. Nine suspects are on trial, with two others still at large.
The SSS’s Director General, Tosin Ajayi, said the ongoing prosecutions show that security agencies are “diligent in dealing with perpetrators of terror” and that the country remains committed to the rule of law.
“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,” he said, according to the statement reposted by presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga.
Nigeria has battled Islamist insurgency for over a decade, with groups such as Boko Haram and Ansaru linked to global jihadist networks.
Although hundreds of suspects have been tried in military courts, human rights advocates have long criticized the opacity surrounding terrorism prosecutions and the long detention of suspects without trial.
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