Nigeria’s security operatives have apprehended key leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group who were said to be behind several deadly attacks across the country, including the infamous Kuje prison break.
Those captured include Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also called Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar, identified as the self-proclaimed Emir of Ansaru, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Mallam Mamuda.
The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, revealed this during a press briefing at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Abuja.
According to Ribadu, Abu Bara coordinated Ansaru’s sleeper cells across Nigeria and orchestrated major kidnappings and armed robberies to fund the group’s terrorist operations.
He further disclosed that Mamuda controlled the “Mahmudawa” faction around Kainji National Park and had undergone military training in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under the supervision of foreign jihadist trainers.
Flanked by the service chiefs and heads of security agencies, Ribadu explained that intelligence teams had been monitoring Abu Bara since May before he was eventually arrested in July.
The NSA said the operation was necessary as Ansaru had firmly rooted itself in Nigeria and was determined to destabilize the nation with its violent activities.
“I am pleased to inform Nigerians that a high-risk, intelligence-driven counter-terrorism mission has been successfully executed, leading to the arrest of the top commanders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, widely known as Ansaru, Nigeria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate,” Ribadu said.
He noted that Ansaru first surfaced in January 2012 in Kano after splitting from Boko Haram, claiming to be a more “humane” movement. However, the group soon launched attacks on security operatives, civilians, and government facilities.
The NSA recalled that Ansaru openly displayed the emblem of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), confirming its loyalty to global jihadist networks. Over time, the group expanded its presence through sleeper cells in northern cities and forest camps, especially around Kainji National Park, spanning Niger, Kwara, and parts of Benin Republic.
The arrest of Abu Bara represents the most significant breakthrough since 2016, when security forces captured Khalid al-Barnawi, a former leader of the group.
Barnawi had been listed by the U.S. Department of State in June 2012 as one of three Nigerians designated as “global terrorists.” The others were Boko Haram’s late leader Abubakar Shekau and Ansaru founder Abubakar Adam Kambar.
Al-Barnawi assumed leadership of Ansaru following Kambar’s death in March 2012 during a military raid on his hideout in Kano.
It remains uncertain whether Abu Bara officially took over from al-Barnawi as the group’s leader.
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