On Monday, August 18, the US Mission in Nigeria sent an open commendation to Nigeria government and the nation’s security agencies. The laudation came via its verified X handle. And it was to salute the courage of the nation’s security personnel on the arrest of two of the deadliest terrorists in the country. The dreaded Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda). Both were leaders of the outlaw terror sect, Ansaru.

In a terse message on X, the US Mission wrote: “We commend the Nigerian Government and security forces on the successful arrest of wanted #Ansaru leaders, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda). This is a significant forward in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and extremism.”

Though the message of commendation was terse but its import was deep. At last, the United States has something good to say about Nigeria, this time. And it said it in the most carefully crafted words on a most critical subject matter. The capture of the leaders of Ansaru is huge, as huge as the pain the group has inflicted on victims especially in the north west axis of Nigeria where they graze with their weapons of death.

The counter-terrorism centre describes Ansaru (also known as Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis Sudan) as an arm of al-Qaeda flourishing in their imagined Land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in Nigeria. Their motive is to end all forms of secular and foreign influences in Nigeria and in Benin Republic in order to establish a Salafi-Islamist state. Initially conceived to be the kidnap-for-ransom arm of Boko Haram, Ansaru reportedly split off from Boko Haram in January 2012 and aligned with al-Qaeda. They were miffed by Boko Haram’s attacks on Muslim civilians. Whereas Boko Haram members can sometimes be tempered in their operations, not so Ansaru. They are mean and bloody, mixing and fueling their evil intentions of banishing western influence in Nigeria with kidnappings and sundry brutal attacks. Their operational base is the Benin-Niger-Nigeria tri-border corridor and over time, they have established cells within this corridor.

The United States since the 9/11 (2001) havoc of Al-Qaeda has trailed the group and its adjuncts in the Sahel region. In November 2013, the US State Department designated Ansaru as a foreign terrorist organisation. Those familiar with operations of the group described its members as goons high on extremism and fatalistic in tendencies. They fear no foe. They kill and maim to live. They kidnap, accept ransom and still kill their victims.  They conjure sadism to entertain themselves. Other people’s pain is their pleasure. Pure demented demons.

This fatal fantasy manifests in their mode of operation. Even in their targets. To the Ansaru sect, every target is vulnerable, including fortresses like military formations. Ansaru gangsters, for instance, were the attackers of a Nigerian army base in Kaduna on August 20, 2020 during which 35 soldiers were reportedly killed. In the same Kaduna, on January 14, 2020, Ansaru operatives, disguised as soldiers, attacked a Nigerian army convoy leaving behind casualties which included no fewer than 30 troops. In Katsina on May 1, 2019, they kidnapped a family member of a top aide to the then President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba (Magajin Garin Daura). They also reportedly kidnapped seven foreign construction workers and killed a security guard in Bauchi on February 16, 2013.  Propelled by their self-inflicted unholy anger, they would later execute the hostages the following month. Earlier in May, 2011, in Kebbi state, the group kidnapped one Briton and one Italian construction worker. They demanded ransom plus the release of their members in prison. But before the Nigerian government could act, they killed both hostages during a UK-Nigeria rescue attempt. Other operations of the sect include the 2022 Kuje prison break; the attack on the Niger uranium facility; and the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina. They were also behind the abduction of the Emir of Wawa (Niger state), Dr Mahmud Ahmed Aliyu, in September 2021. They are said to be fatally meticulous and picky with their targets, a sign of their sophistication having received training from the best of their type on the international circuit in the hands of terror specialists of the Al-Qaeda order. Till this day, the Ansaru members maintain active links with terrorist groups across the Maghreb, particularly in Mali, Niger Republic and Burkina Faso. Such has been their model: Attack, kidnap for ransom, kill. It’s a familiar pattern.

National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, while announcing the capture of the duo, was a bundle of elation. He said the two terrorists had been on the wanted list of Nigeria, the US, UK and UN. That sums up their profile; a terror machine of international clout. They were nabbed in stealth operation conducted between May and July 2025. Credit to Ribadu and the security agencies that conducted the operation. It is one of the gains of evolving seamless synergy among the different stakeholders within the nation’s security apparatchik. An undeniable highpoint of the Ribadu-era as NSA is the harmony he has built within the security circle. Bigger credit to President Bola Tinubu, who does not have a military background but has achieved more success in the onslaught against insurgency than anyone else.

The dawn of insurgency and its adjunct crimes especially kidnappings have come with huge consequences on the nation including loss of lives, low productivity in agriculture, dip in transportation services, school enrolment, investments including foreign direct investments; spur in humanitarian crisis, economic losses, destruction of critical infrastructure, among others. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in its 2024 Crime Experience and Security Perception Survey (a controversial document now yanked off from the NBS website) reported that approximately N2.2 trillion was paid to kidnappers as ransom between May 2023 and April 2024 (one year). That is more than the 2025 budget of five states (Yobe N320.8bn; Gombe N369.9bn; Ekiti N375.7bn; Nasarawa N384.3bn; and Osun N427.7bn; all totaling N1.87 trillion. Simply put, ransom paid out to kidnappers in one year can effectively run five or more states in Nigeria. This is most concerning and it further underscores the significance of the Ansaru milestone in the fight against insurgency.

Now that they are in the custody of the nation’s security apparatchik, two suspects of international interest, extreme care should be taken to ensure they do not escape or are aided to escape by whoever and in whatever circumstance. Critical intelligence should be extracted from them before trial begins. They hold the roadmap to more successes in the fight against terror. Ribadu and the entire national security network deserve, not just US laudation, but a gong beat of praise from Nigerians.