By Olatunbosun Obafemi
Nigeria has achieved a major breakthrough in its war against terrorism with the capture of two of the country’s most wanted men – the leaders of Ansaru, the Al-Qaeda-linked terror franchise.
National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, confirmed the arrests on Saturday evening at a press briefing in Abuja. He described the operation, conducted between May and July 2025, as “one of the most decisive blows against terrorism in Nigeria’s history.”
The men, identified as Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, popularly called Mallam Mamuda, were arrested in a series of high-risk, intelligence-led missions. Both men had been on Nigeria’s wanted list for years and were equally flagged by the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations.
Abu Bara’a, who crowned himself the Emir of Ansaru, coordinated sleeper cells across Nigeria and masterminded several kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terror activities. His deputy, Mamuda, led the fearsome “Mahmudawa” cell operating around Kainji National Park. A Libyan-trained jihadist, Mamuda was an expert in weapons and improvised explosive devices, making him a deadly asset to the group.
The duo are believed to have masterminded the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on a uranium facility in Niger, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, and the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura. They were also behind the abduction of the Emir of Wawa, and maintained active links with terror groups in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Formed in 2012 as a splinter faction of Boko Haram, Ansaru initially presented itself as a “humane” alternative, but quickly evolved into one of Nigeria’s most dangerous terror groups, openly pledging allegiance to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.
“The capture of Abu Bara’a and Mallam Mamuda has effectively dismantled Ansaru’s central command and paved the way for its annihilation,” Ribadu declared.
