A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has granted an alleged commander of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group, Abubakar Abba, until July 20 to decide whether to maintain his earlier guilty plea or enter a fresh plea in the terrorism charges brought against him.
Justice Emeka Nwite fixed the new date on Thursday after the defendant informed the court that he had yet to decide whether to change the guilty plea he entered in November 2025 or retain it.
When the matter came up for hearing, Abba, after conferring with his counsel, Husseina Tukur, told the court that he remained undecided on the plea he intended to adopt.
The prosecuting counsel, David Kaswe, an Assistant Director in the Federal Ministry of Justice, opposed any further adjournment, arguing that the defendant had made a similar request at the previous sitting and should be ready to proceed.
Justice Nwite, however, adjourned the case until July 20 to enable the defendant make a final decision on his plea.
Abba is standing trial alongside Mahmud Usman on a 32-count charge bordering on terrorism, terrorism financing, kidnapping for ransom, illegal mining, funding terrorism, fabrication of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), and other related offences.
According to the prosecution, the defendants allegedly coordinated sleeper cells, orchestrated attacks and maintained links with terrorist organisations operating across the Sahel and Maghreb regions.
At their arraignment, Usman pleaded guilty to one count of illegal mining for the purpose of funding terrorism and procuring arms. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the remaining 31 counts, while Abba initially pleaded not guilty to all the charges before later entering a guilty plea in November 2025, which he is now considering whether to retain or withdraw.