Two suspected senior commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group on Monday pleaded guilty to a 32-count terrorism charge before the Federal High Court in Abuja.

This development marks a dramatic turn in their trial after months of denying the allegations.

The defendants, Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara'a, Abbas and Mukhtar, identified by the prosecution as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and Abubakar Abba, also known as Mahmud al-Nigeri and Malam Mamuda, alleged to be the group's deputy leader and chief of staff, changed their pleas before Justice Emeka Nwite.

Their counsel, Bala Dakum, told the court that following consultations with his clients, they had decided to withdraw their earlier not-guilty pleas and admit all the charges.

"After consultation with the defendants, my lord, they have agreed and are ready to change their plea.

"We apply that the charge be read to them accordingly," Dakum said.

Counsel to the Department of State Services (DSS), David Kaswe, raised no objection and urged the court to allow the charges to be read afresh, after which both defendants pleaded guilty to all 32 counts.

The suspects were first arraigned on September 11, 2025, on charges bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, manufacturing of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), coordinating terrorist sleeper cells and maintaining links with Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups operating across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.

At the initial arraignment, Usman admitted only to a charge of illegal mining allegedly used to finance terrorism and was consequently convicted and sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment on that count, while pleading not guilty to the remaining charges.

Abba, however, denied all the allegations, leading to their remand in DSS custody pending trial.

The trial later suffered delays after defence counsel complained of being denied access to his clients by DSS officials.

When proceedings resumed in March 2026, the prosecution opened its case through a DSS operative identified only by the codename "Triple A."

The witness testified that both defendants confessed to receiving military training in Libya, including instruction in the manufacture of IEDs from trainers from Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

The operative further told the court that the suspects admitted belonging to Ansaru, participating in kidnappings and illegal mining activities, and maintaining operational links with terrorist networks across North and West Africa.

The latest guilty pleas came after Abba informed the court during the previous sitting on July 9 that he wished to reconsider his earlier plea, prompting Justice Nwite to adjourn the matter until Monday.

The arrest of the two suspects was announced in August 2025 by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who disclosed that they were apprehended during a high-risk, intelligence-led, multi-agency operation conducted between May and July 2025.

Ribadu described their capture as a major breakthrough in the fight against Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist organisation blamed for numerous attacks, kidnappings and other violent crimes in parts of Nigeria.