Nigeria’s fight against terrorism recorded a significant victory with the capture of two top leaders of the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru terrorist group, the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, announced on Saturday.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Ribadu described the operation as “the most decisive blow” yet against the extremist group, stressing that the arrests have dismantled Ansaru’s central command structure.
The intelligence-led operation, conducted between May and July, targeted Ansaru enclaves around Kainji National Park, which stretches across Niger and Kwara states and connects to networks in the Benin Republic.
The NSA identified the suspects as Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar, who styled himself as the “Emir of Ansaru,” and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Malam Mamuda, the group’s Chief of Staff. Both men, he noted, had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years.
“Abu Bara coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and masterminded several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism.
His deputy, Mamuda, trained in Libya under foreign jihadist instructors, specialising in weapons handling and IED fabrication,” Ribadu revealed.
The duo was said to have spearheaded multiple deadly attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break, an assault on a Niger uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 kidnapping of Magajin Garin Daura, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
Ribadu noted that the operation not only neutralised Ansaru’s leadership but also yielded critical digital evidence and intelligence materials now undergoing forensic analysis.
“These will provide further actionable intelligence against residual Ansaru cells and their foreign collaborators,” he said.
Commending the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, and security services for their synergy, the NSA credited President Bola Tinubu’s strategic guidance for the success.
He assured Nigerians that the government would sustain the momentum, declaring that “Nigeria will continue to pursue extremists with precision, resolve, and unwavering determination.”
The Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, also praised the security forces for their resilience and urged the media to resist amplifying terrorist propaganda.
“This feat exemplifies Nigeria’s advancing counter-terrorism capabilities and signals the beginning of the end of impunity for terrorist leaders in the country,” Idris said.
Ribadu, however, warned that the fight was far from over and called on citizens to remain vigilant and provide timely intelligence to security agencies.
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