Court gives ‘terrorist group’s boss’ Usman time to decide on not guilty plea
A Federal High Court, Abuja has given a suspected Commander of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, Abubakar Abba (a.k.a. Abu Bara) up till July 20 to decide on whether or not to change his earlier not guilty plea. Abba is being prosecuted along with Mahmud Usman (a.k.a. Isah Adam, Mahmud Al-Nigeri) by the Department of the State Service (DSS) on a 32-count terrorism charge. Our correspondent in Abuja reported that Usman had, during their arraignment earlier this year, pleaded guilty to a count of illegal mining for funding terrorism/arms and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment. He pleaded not guilty to the other 31 counts. The co-defendant, Abba pleaded not guilty to all the 32 counts. At yesterday’s hearing, Abba informed the court of his intention to withdraw his earlier not guilty plea. But after a brief consultation with his […]