Ansaru commanders, Mammuda and Abu Baraa, who were arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS), have pleaded guilty to a 32-count charge of terrorism and kidnapping.
The DSS had in September 2025 arraigned the two senior commanders of Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist organisation, at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suspects allegedly attacked the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State, in 2022, causing mass casualties.
They were alleged to have received training in weapons handling, war tactics, and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication from terrorist camps.
The suspects were also accused of receiving training in war tactics from a terrorist organisation in Mali.
Security officials had alleged that Mamuda trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors.
The DSS accused the commanders of masterminding the July 2022 Kuje prison attack, which freed more than 600 inmates.
They also allegedly planned the Niger uranium facility attack and multiple kidnappings, including that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013.
Other alleged crimes levelled against them include the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and several armed robberies.
Arrest
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, had in August 2025 announced the arrest of two men he identified as leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group.
Ribadu identified those arrested as Abu Baraa, the Amir, and Mahmuda, the deputy Amir.
They were said to be responsible for masterminding several terrorist operations in Nigeria as well as high-profile kidnappings.
Ribadu explained, “The first is Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled Emir of ANSARU. He is the coordinator of various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria.
“He is also the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terrorism over the years,” the NSA disclosed at a press briefing on security developments.
“The second is Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda), Abu Bara’s proclaimed Chief of Staff and Deputy. He is the leader of the so-called “Mahmudawa” cell hiding out in and around the Kainji National Park, straddling Niger and Kwara States up to the Benin Republic.
“Mamuda trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in weapons handling and IED fabrication.”
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Ribadu had explained that the two men had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years, having jointly spearheaded multiple attacks on civilians, security forces, and critical infrastructure.
He said the suspects’ operations included the 2022 Kuje jailbreak, the attack on the Niger uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, and the May 1, 2019, kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba (Magajin Garin Daura).
“They were also behind the abduction of the Emir of Wawa, and they maintain active links with terrorist groups across the Maghreb, particularly in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The two men, who are wanted internationally, are currently in custody.
“The capture of Abu Bara and Mallam Mamuda, the group’s leader and deputy commander, respectively, marks one of the most significant achievements to date in our ongoing effort to rid Nigeria of the threat of terrorism. The successful decapitation of the leadership of this dangerous franchise marks the most decisive blow against ANSARU since its inception,” the NSA added.
The Ansaru group was said to have emerged in January 2012 with a public declaration in Kano as a splinter faction of Boko Haram, positioning itself as a “humane alternative”.
However, its stated aim quickly turned to attacking Nigerian security operatives, civilian communities, and government infrastructure, Ribadu explained, stating further that the group publicly displayed the setting sun logo of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), signalling its ideological and operational alignment with global jihadist movements.
The NSA revealed that Ansaru entrenched itself over the years, in both urban sleeper cells and forest enclaves across several cities in northern Nigeria and forest-based enclaves, particularly around Kainji National Park, operating in Niger and Kwara states, as well as the Benin Republic.
More to follow…
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