A Federal High Court in Abuja has convicted Mahmud Usman, a top commander of the proscribed Ansaru sect, and sentenced him to 15 years imprisonment for terrorism-related offences.
Usman, also known by the aliases Abu Bara’a, Abbas, and Mukhtar, pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges of engaging in illegal mining and using the proceeds to fund arms procurement for terrorist and kidnapping operations.
Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered that Usman remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) pending trial on 31 additional counts filed against him.
Usman, who styled himself as the “Emir of Ansaru,” appeared in court alongside his deputy and chief of staff, Mahmud al-Nigeri (popularly known as Malam Mamuda). Both men face a 32-count indictment accusing them of leading a terrorist organisation, financing its activities, recruiting fighters, and coordinating violent attacks across Nigeria.
Authorities have linked Ansaru militants to multiple high-profile incidents, including the July 2022 raid on Kuje Prison in Abuja, where more than 600 inmates — including 64 Boko Haram suspects — escaped. They were also accused of orchestrating the 2022 attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Niger State, which resulted in several deaths.
National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu previously described Usman as:
“the coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism.”
Mamuda, Usman’s deputy, is alleged to have trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors, specialising in weapons handling and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication.
Investigators have also linked the duo to the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 kidnapping of Musa Uba (Magajin Garin Daura), and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
