Ansaru Commander Mahmud Usman Jailed 15 Years

A Federal High Court in Abuja has handed down a 15-year prison sentence to Mahmud Usman, described as one of the commanders of the proscribed terrorist group Ansaru.

The Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned Usman, who admitted guilt to engaging in illegal mining — an activity the prosecution said provided him with resources to procure arms for terrorism and kidnapping.

Justice Emeka Nwite, who delivered the ruling, ordered that Usman remain in DSS custody as he still faces trial on 31 additional charges. He was arraigned alongside Abubakar Abba in a 32-count charge that alleged their involvement in terrorist activities, including a 2022 attack on the Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in Kainji, Niger State, which resulted in heavy casualties.

According to the charge sheet, both men allegedly received advanced training in weapons handling, the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and war tactics from terrorist camps in Mali and elsewhere. They were also linked to the July 2022 Kuje Prison attack, where over 600 inmates escaped, as well as a planned strike on a Niger uranium facility and multiple high-profile kidnappings.

Among the abductions attributed to them were the 2013 kidnapping of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and other armed robberies across northern Nigeria.

National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu confirmed their arrests, noting that coordinated security operations made it possible. He described Usman as the “self-styled Emir of Ansaru”, who oversaw several terrorist sleeper cells nationwide, while identifying Mamuda as his “chief of staff,” leading the Mahmudawa cell near Kainji National Park.

Ansaru, which broke away from Boko Haram in January 2012 in Kano, has remained one of the most dangerous extremist groups operating in Nigeria. Justice Nwite has fixed October 21 for the continuation of trial on the other pending charges.