After Strategic Breakthrough, Security Forces Tighten Pressure on Ansaru Terror Network

… We Have Struck A Most Decisive Blow to Terrorism, Says NSA Ribadu
By Yinka Giwa

Nigeria’s security forces are maintaining pressure on the Ansaru terrorist group following the capture of two of its top leaders in an intelligence-led operation that spanned several months.

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, confirmed that the arrests represent the most decisive blow yet against the Al-Qaeda-linked faction.

The operation, carried out in collaboration with the armed forces, intelligence agencies, and other security stakeholders, targeted Ansaru enclaves in and around Kainji National Park, straddling Niger and Kwara States, with links extending into neighbouring Benin Republic.

Those arrested include Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled “Emir of Ansaru,” and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Malam Mamuda), who doubled as Chief of Staff. Both men had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years.

According to Ribadu, Abu Bara coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and masterminded several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism. His deputy, Mamuda, reportedly trained in Libya under foreign jihadist instructors, specialising in weapons handling and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication.

The two men are linked to multiple high-profile attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack 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. They are also believed to have coordinated Ansaru’s cross-border networks in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

“The capture of Abu Bara and 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,” Ribadu said.

He disclosed that security forces recovered valuable materials and digital evidence now undergoing forensic analysis, which is expected to yield further actionable intelligence against residual Ansaru cells and their foreign collaborators.

Ribadu commended President Bola Tinubu for providing strategic guidance, while praising the military and security agencies for their doggedness.

“This feat exemplifies Nigeria’s advancing counter-terrorism capabilities. It followed months of surveillance, human intelligence, and technical tracking, demonstrating enhanced sophistication and seamless inter-agency synergy,” he said.

The NSA urged citizens to remain vigilant and continue providing timely information to security agencies, stressing that national security is a shared responsibility.

Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, also commended the security forces and called on the media to deny terrorists the oxygen of publicity.

“It is incumbent on all of us to work together to ensure that Nigeria can be safe again,” he said.