The Department of State Services (DSS) has provided updates on prosecution of four high-profile terrorism cases before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The development comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened possible military action in Nigeria if President Bola Tinubu’s administration fails to curb the killing of Christians in the country.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump warned that the United States could “go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities.”
Trump’s threat followed his redesignation of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” over alleged systematic persecution and killing of Christians.
The designation, issued by the U.S. Secretary of State under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, often comes with the possibility of economic sanctions.
Nigeria was previously designated a CPC during Trump’s first term from 2017 to 2021 but was removed from the list by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Over nine years (2016–2025), the DSS said it has filed and pursued at least four major terrorism-related cases, ranging from the 2011 UN Building bombing to the 2022 Owo Church attack and the 2025 Yelwata massacre in Benue State.
The service mentioned 24 terrorism suspects, including two high-profile jihadist leaders, five suspects linked to the 2011 UN bombing, five behind the 2022 Owo massacre, and twelve tied to the 2025 Benue killings.
The DSS said the cases, currently at various stages of trial before Justice Emeka Nwite, reflect the country’s evolving legal approach to counterterrorism and the gradual tightening of accountability for extremist violence.
According to DSS Deputy Director, Public Relations and Strategic Communications, Favour Dozie, Justice Nwite will, on November 19, continue the trial of two notorious terrorism suspects, Mahmud Muhammad Usman and Abubakar Abba, who are both internationally wanted.
Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, and Abba, known as Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri, were captured in a high-risk counterterrorism operation conducted by the DSS in July after months of surveillance and pursuit. The two men are believed to be leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, popularly known as ANSARU, the Nigerian affiliate of Al-Qaeda.
Usman, described as the self-styled Emir of ANSARU, allegedly coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across the country. “He is also believed to have masterminded several high-profile kidnappings and robberies, the proceeds of which were used to finance terrorism over the years. Abba, Usman’s chief of staff and deputy, is alleged to have led the so-called ‘Mahmudawa’ cell, which operated around the Kainji National Park, located on the border between Niger and Kwara States, as well as the Republic of Benin.”
According to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), Abba reportedly received terrorist training in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specializing in weapons handling and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication.
Both suspects face a 32-count terrorism charge. “One of the counts related to illegal mining, to which Usman pleaded guilty and has since been sentenced to 15 years. Abba pleaded not guilty to all 32 counts.”
The DSS is also prosecuting Khalid Al-Barnawi, believed to be the mastermind of the August 26, 2011 bombing of the United Nations Complex in Abuja, which killed 20 people and injured over 70 others. Arrested in 2016, Al-Barnawi is facing trial alongside four alleged accomplices—Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Mohammed Bello (aka Datti), Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu (aka Bello Maishayi).
The progress of the case has been slowed by legal and procedural challenges, including instances where the accused appeared in court without legal representation. Following a DSS application, Justice Nwite granted an accelerated hearing to hasten the long-delayed proceedings. A trial-within-trial held on October 23 and 24 featured the court’s review of video evidence showing the defendants’ confessional statements.
The DSS has also arraigned five men linked to the June 5, 2022 attack on St. Francis Catholic Church in Owo, Ondo State, where dozens were massacred. The defendants—Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris, and Momoh Otuho Abubakar—are facing a nine-count terrorism charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025.
“Over 40 people died in the attack, while over 100 individuals sustained injuries,” the service noted. They were accused of belonging to the Al Shabab terrorist group with an operational base in Kogi State. The DSS alleges that they carried out the Owo massacre as part of their extremist ideology.
Justice Nwite ordered their remand after they pleaded not guilty. However, on September 10, the court denied them bail, citing the capital nature of their offences and the strength of the evidence presented by the prosecution.
The DSS said it is also prosecuting suspects linked to the June 13, 2025 Yelwata massacre in Guma Local Government Area of Benue State, where dozens were killed and 107 others injured. The brutal attack prompted national outrage, with President Tinubu visiting Benue to commiserate with victims’ families and demand the arrest of those responsible.
Following a coordinated operation, the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, announced the arrest of 26 suspects on June 24. Subsequently, the DSS filed terrorism-related charges against nine of them in August 2025.
Among the accused are Haruna Adamu and Muhammad Abdullahi, both from Nasarawa State, who were charged in absentia for concealing information about the planned attacks in Abinsi and Yelwata between June 13 and 14.
In total, the DSS has filed six separate terrorism charges against those arrested in connection with the killings. The accused include Musa Beniyon, Bako Malowa, Ibrahim Tunga, Asara Ahnadu, Legu Musa, Adamu Yale, Boddi Ayuba, and Pyeure Damina.
The agency said it also charged Terkende Ashuwa and Amos Alede of Guma LGA with three counts of reprisal attacks against the perpetrators of the Benue massacres. Their trial began in early September, with both defendants pleading not guilty.
The DSS Director-General, Tosin Ajayi, said the agency had continued to make efforts to ensure accountability through lawful prosecution.
“The various arrests and trials of terrorism suspects showed that Nigeria’s security agencies have been diligent in dealing with the perpetrators of terror in the country. 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. We shall continue to make the suspects accountable for disrupting the peace of our country, in consonance with the rule of law,” said Toyin.
Meanwhile, the Tinubu administration has denied allegations of religious persecution in the country. On October 7, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Imomotimi Ebienfa, dismissed claims by U.S. lawmaker Riley M. Moore as “false and misleading.”
“The allegations are not true. You, as a Nigerian, are aware that the Nigerian government does not deliberately indulge a particular religion to exterminate the other,” Ebienfa told NEWSNGR.
“From Boko Haram and ISWAP to bandits, they kill both Christians and Muslims. It’s not that the targets are only Christians. We have written to the U.S. government to state clearly that the allegations are not true,” he added.
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