The National Security Adviser (NSA), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has announced the arrest of two notorious terrorists and leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group.
He gave the names of the arrested suspects as Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled “Emir of Ansaru,” and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda), his deputy and chief of staff.
The leaders who have been on the watchlist of the security agencies were arrested in an intelligence-led operation, conducted between May and July 2025.
Ribadu, at a media briefing, who attributed the arrest to a major breakthrough in the ongoing counter-terrorism campaign, said
According to him, the capture of Abu Bara and Mallam Mamuda marks a turning point. It has dismantled Ansaru’s central command structure and signals the beginning of the end to impunity for terrorist leaders in Nigeria.
He added that security forces also recovered valuable materials and digital evidence during the operation, now undergoing forensic analysis, which is expected to generate further actionable intelligence against residual Ansaru cells and their foreign collaborators.
“This feat exemplifies Nigeria’s advancing counter-terrorism capabilities.
“It followed months of deep surveillance, human intelligence, and technical tracking, demonstrating enhanced sophistication and seamless inter-agency synergy,” he added.
The NSA commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing strategic guidance, as well as the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, and security services for their doggedness in achieving the success.
He reassured Nigerians that the government would sustain the momentum, stressing that the fight against terrorism was far from over, but that “Nigeria will continue to pursue extremists with precision, resolve, and unwavering determination.”
He also called on citizens to remain vigilant and provide timely information to security agencies, noting that “national security is a shared responsibility.”
the arrest of the two leaders has no doubt decapitated the leadership of the Al-Qaeda-linked group and dealt “the most decisive blow against them”.
The NSA, said that the operation was carried out in collaboration with the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, and other security stakeholders, targeting Ansaru enclaves in and around Kainji National Park, straddling Niger and Kwara States, with links extending into Benin Republic.
According to him, the suspects, identified as Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled “Emir of Ansaru,” and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda), his deputy and chief of staff, had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years.
“Abu Bara was described as the coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism.
“His deputy, Mallam Mamuda, was said to have trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in weapons handling and Improvised Explosive Device (IED) fabrication,” he said.
The NSA said the two leaders jointly spearheaded multiple terrorist attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on a Niger uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba (Magajin Garin Daura), and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
He added that they were also linked to Ansaru’s networks across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
According to him, the capture of Abu Bara and Mallam Mamuda marks a turning point. It has dismantled Ansaru’s central command structure and signals the beginning of the end to impunity for terrorist leaders in Nigeria.
He added that security forces also recovered valuable materials and digital evidence during the operation, now undergoing forensic analysis, which is expected to generate further actionable intelligence against residual Ansaru cells and their foreign collaborators.
“This feat exemplifies Nigeria’s advancing counter-terrorism capabilities.
“It followed months of deep surveillance, human intelligence, and technical tracking, demonstrating enhanced sophistication and seamless inter-agency synergy,” he added.
The NSA commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for providing strategic guidance, as well as the Armed Forces, intelligence agencies, and security services for their doggedness in achieving the success.
He reassured Nigerians that the government would sustain the momentum, stressing that the fight against terrorism was far from over, but that “Nigeria will continue to pursue extremists with precision, resolve, and unwavering determination.”
He also called on citizens to remain vigilant and provide timely information to security agencies, noting that “national security is a shared responsibility.”
Credit: The Sun