Military Hits Ansaru Terror Group Hard, Arrests Leaders-Abu Baraa, Mallam Mahmuda

The Nigerian Government has recorded a major breakthrough in the war against terrorism as it announced that security agencies have arrested two leaders of of the notorious terrorist group, Ansaru.

The National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu disclosed this at a press briefing on security developments at his office in Abuja.

Ribadu named the two suspected terror masterminds as Abu Baraa, the Amir, and Mahmuda, the deputy Amir.

The NSA said the duo were responsible for masterminding several terrorist operations and high-profile kidnappings in Nigeria.

The Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Inspector General of Police, and the Minister of Information and National Orientation attended the briefing.

According to Ribadu, “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 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.”

The NSA said 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.

Ribadu pinpointed some of the suspects’ operations as including 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,” Ribadu continued. “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 noted that the arrests had “effectively dismantled” the group’s central command while paving the path for its complete annihilation.

The National Security Adviser recalled that the Ansaru terror group emerged in January 2012, with a public declaration in Kano, proclaiming itself as a splinter faction from Boko Haram, while positioning itself as a “humane alternative”.

But the group’s true motives quickly unravelled as it began to unleash terror attacks against Nigerian security operatives, civilian communities, and government infrastructure, Ribadu explained, adding 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.

Ribadu also recalled 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.