By Adesina Soyooye
Says the International terrorists were, also, the masterminds of the unprecedented Kuje (Abuja) Prison break during which scores of dangerous arrested terrorists escaped”
In a heart-warming news, Nigeria announced, on Saturday, that it has arrested two top leaders of Al-Qaeda. The announcement of their arrest was important enough to be handled personally by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The arrest of the two leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria, is a product of several months of counter-terrorism operation.
According to Ribadu who
disclosed this at a press briefing he held in his office,
the intelligence-driven operation was carried out between May and July 2025. It was a perfect collaboration by security and intelligence agencies.
Those arrested are Mahmud Muhammad Usman, known also as Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar. He is the self-acclaimed Emir of Ansaru, and his Chief-of-Staff/ 2nd-in-command, Mahmud al-Nigeri, who is also known as Mallam Mamuda.
Ribadu revealed that Abu Bara coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and is the brain behind high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies which proceeds he uses to finance terrorism. His deputy, Mamuda, was in- charge of “Mahmudawa” cell around Kainji National Park. He trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors.
Ribadu: “The targeted operation, which was conducted between May and July 2025, led to the capture of two top ANSARU leaders who have been responsible for masterminding several terrorist attacks against Nigeria over the past years. 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 two men, the NSA said have been on Nigeria’s and International most-wanted list for years.
They were, said Ribadu, responsible for other attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on Niger’s uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, and the 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”
With their capture the Ansaru’s central command structure has been dismantled. It marks a significant achievement in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
The NSA disclosed that security forces recovered materials and digital evidence during the operation. These are undergoing forensic analysis.
His words: “This strike has effectively dismantled its central command while paving the path for the complete annihilation of the group.
” Let me use this opportunity to inform the public that, in the course of the operation, our security forces captured and recovered valuable actionable intelligence.
“These include a cache of materials and digital evidence which are all now undergoing forensic analysis. The findings from the analysis are expected to support our ongoing efforts to exploit this success, bring them to justice, and completely bring them to justice, and completely annihilate the remnants of ANSARU networks and disrupt their foreign collaborators.”
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