By Abiola Olawale
Nigeria’s security forces have apprehended two high-ranking leaders of the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru terrorist group, dealing a severe blow to its operations.
National Security Adviser (NSA) Mallam Nuhu Ribadu made this announcement during a press briefing at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Abuja, describing the arrests as a “decisive step” in dismantling the group’s leadership.
Ribadu identified the captured leaders as Mahmud Muhammad Usman, alias Abu Bara’a (also known as Abbas or Mukhtar), the self-styled “Emir of Ansaru,” and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, alias Malam Mamuda, the group’s Chief of Staff.
He said both individuals have been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years and are linked to high-profile terrorist activities across the country.
He said: “Abu Bara was described as the coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism.
“His deputy, Malam Mamuda, was said to have trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in weapons handling and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) fabrication.”
The NSA said the two terrorist leaders allegedly spearheaded multiple terrorist attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break and the attack on a Niger uranium facility.
Others, he said, included the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba (Magajin Garin Daura), and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
He added that they were also allegedly linked to Ansaru’s networks across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
