Breaking: DSS Gives Updates on Prosecution of Major Terror Suspects Amid US Threats, Details Emerge
- Amid the United States (US) and President Donald Trump's significant threats, the DSS on Tuesday, November 4, disclosed that it has effected many arrests in cases linked to terrorism in Nigeria
- DSS Director General (DG), Tosin Ajayi, asserted that "the various trials of terrorism suspects showed that Nigeria's security agencies have been diligent in dealing with the perpetrators of terror in the country"
- Ajayi noted that the men DSS operatives 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"
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over nine years of experience covering security and counterinsurgency in Nigeria and Africa.
FCT, Abuja - The Department of State Services (DSS) on Tuesday evening, November 4, gave updates on the prosecution of major terror suspects.
Per a statement dispatched by Favour Dozie, deputy director, Public Relations and Strategic Communications of the DSS, and obtained by Legit.ng, the Nigerian secret police vowed to continue to make the suspects accountable for disrupting the nation's peace.
Source: Twitter
Legit.ng reports that the updates from the DSS come amid recent threats from US President Donald Trump to unleash America's military on Nigerian 'Islamic terrorists'. Trump alleged that Christians are being persecuted in Africa's most populous nation.
The DSS detailed:
"On November 19, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja will continue the trial of two terrorism suspects, Mahmud Muhammad Usman and Abubakar Abba, who are wanted internationally. Usman (aka Abu Bara'a) and Abba (aka Isah Adam and Mahmud Al-Nigeria) were captured in a high-risk, intelligence-led, counter-terrorism operation in July by the Department of State Services (DSS), after several months of chasing them. The two are believed to be leaders of the Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, commonly known as ANSARU, Nigeria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate.
"Usman, the self-styled Emir of ANSARU, allegedly coordinated various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria. 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 the states of Niger and Kwara, as well as the Republic of Benin.
"The Office of the National Security Adviser(ONSA), in a statement issued on August 16, claimed Mamuda received training in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. He is said to have specialised in weapons handling and IED fabrication. Usman and Abba are being tried on a 32-count terrorism charge, and on which they were arraigned in late August. 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 the 32 counts."
Bombing of the UN headquarters in Nigeria
Furthermore, the DSS disclosed that it is also prosecuting another terror suspect, Khalid Al‑Barnawi, accused of being the mastermind of the August 26, 2011, bombing of the United Nations (UN) Complex in Abuja, in which 20 people were killed and more than 70 others injured.
The DSS said:
"Captured in 2016, Al Barnawi is facing trial along with four other terror suspects - Mohammed Bashir Saleh, Umar Mohammed Bello aka Datti, Mohammed Salisu, and Yakubu Nuhu aka Bello Maishayi. The trial has been delayed for an extended period due to legal and procedural issues, including the suspects being occasionally brought to court without any counsel appearing for them. The DSS recently requested the court to grant an accelerated hearing in the case, a request Justice Nwite granted. On October 23 and 24, a trial-within-trial was conducted, during which videos of the defendants' confessional statements were played in the courtroom."
DSS speaks on Owo church attack
On the June 2022 terrorist attack at a Catholic church in Owo, Ondo state, where at least 40 people were killed, the DSS made comments concerning the arrested suspects.
It said:
"On August 11, the DSS arraigned five men before a Federal High Court in Abuja over their alleged involvement in the June 5, 2022, attack at St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo state. The five are: Idris Abdulmalik Omeiza, Al Qasim Idris, Jamiu Abdulmalik, Abdulhaleem Idris and Momoh Otuho Abubakar."
"The five defendants were arraigned on a nine-count terrorism charge, marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/301/2025, in which they are accused, among others, of being members of Al Shabab terrorist group, with a cell in Kogi state. The defendants are also alleged to have carried out the attack in furtherance of their religious ideology. They pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to them, following which Justice Nwite ordered that they be remanded in the custody of the prosecuting agency.
"In a ruling on September 10, the judge rejected their request for bail on the grounds that they were not only charged with offences that capital in nature, they are also accused of being members of a notorious terrorist organisation. Justice Nwite agreed with the prosecuting lawyer that the evidence against the defendants was strong and could not be overlooked. The judge said the argument by the DSS that the defendants would jump bail was not disputed by them and deemed to be true."
Source: Facebook
Yelwata massacre in Benue state
Many people were killed in Yelwata, Benue state, in June 2025 following an overnight attack by gunmen.
Government and security officials, as well as prominent Nigerians, visited Yelwata and confirmed the carnage.
The DSS shared that it is keeping tabs on the apprehended suspects' trial.
It said in its new statement:
"Also undergoing trial are the suspects arrested in connection with the Yelwata massacre in Guma local government area (LGA) of Benue state on June 13 2025.
"President Bola Tinubu paid a condolence visit to the state and demanded the arrest of the killers and attackers. On June 24 2025, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, announced the arrest of 26 suspects in connection with the massacre.
"In August 2025, the DSS filed terrorism-related charges before the Federal High Court in Abuja, against nine suspects. Two suspects, Haruna Adamu and Muhammad Abdullahi of Awe local government area of Nassarawa state, who are still at large, were charged with four counts of terrorism, among which is the concealment of information about the attacks, before they were staged in Abinsi and Yelwata villages between June 13th and 14th.
"In total, the DSS filed six separate charges against the arrested suspects, who are now undergoing trial."
Conclusively, DSS boss, Tosin Ajayi, revealed that in July 2024, 125 of the hundreds of arrested suspects terrorists were convicted. Ajayi vowed that his men would not make Nigeria peaceful for outlaws.
DSS fires dozens of staff
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the DSS announced that it had dismissed 115 personnel "over a period".
The DSS said the dismissals are part of the ongoing reforms in the agency.
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Source: Legit.ng
