Nigeria intelligence has captured the two top leaders of the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru group, authorities announced on Saturday.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, told journalists in Abuja that a months-long, intelligence-driven operation led to the arrest of Mahmud Muhammad Usman (Abu Bara’a), the group’s “Emir,” and his deputy Mahmud al-Nigeri (Mallam Mamuda).
Abu Bara’a was the overall coordinator of Ansaru’s sleeper cells across Nigeria, and the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and terrorist financing schemes. His deputy, Mamuda, headed the notorious “Mahmudawa” faction based in Kainji National Park and received training under jihadist instructors in Libya.
“These men have been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years and are also internationally sought terrorists,” Ribadu said. “Their capture marks one of the most decisive blows against Ansaru since its emergence in 2012.”
Ansaru, is formally known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan—split from Boko Haram in 2012 and pledged allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group has claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break in Abuja, the abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013, the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa. It was also linked to deadly cross-border attacks, including an assault on a Niger uranium facility.
Ribadu said the arrests, which occurred between May and July 2025, have effectively dismantled Ansaru’s central command. Caches of materials and digital evidence recovered are now undergoing forensic analysis to unravel further terrorist networks across Nigeria and the Sahel.
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He credited President Bola Tinubu for providing strategic backing and praised the armed forces, intelligence agencies, and security stakeholders for their coordinated effort.
“The fall of Ansaru’s leadership signals the beginning of the end of impunity for terrorist leaders in Nigeria,” Ribadu declared. “We will continue to pursue extremists with precision, resolve, and unwavering determination.”
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