The Federal Government has announced the arrest of two top commanders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), an Al-Qaeda affiliate operating in Nigeria, in what officials describe as one of the country’s most significant counter-terrorism breakthroughs in recent years.
Nuhu Ribadu, National Security Adviser (NSA), disclosed the development on Saturday during a press briefing at his office in Abuja.
He said the arrests followed a months-long intelligence-led operation carried out between May and July 2025 by Nigeria’s security and intelligence agencies.
Those apprehended include Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar, identified as Ansaru’s self-styled Emir, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, widely referred to as Mallam Mamuda.
According to Ribadu, Abu Bara had long coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria, masterminding high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies to generate funds for terrorist operations.
“His deputy, Mamuda, led the group’s feared “Mahmudawa” cell around the Kainji National Park axis, stretching across Niger and Kwara States into the Benin Republic”, he added.
Mamuda, Ribadu revealed, trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, acquiring expertise in weapons handling and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication.
“These two men have been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years and were also internationally wanted. They were directly linked to some of the most heinous terrorist operations in recent history”, Ribadu said.
Among the attacks attributed to them are the 2022 Kuje prison break in Abuja, the assault on a uranium facility in the Niger Republic, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
They were also said to have maintained active ties with jihadist networks across the Maghreb, particularly in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
Ribadu stressed that their capture represented a crippling blow to Ansaru’s leadership structure.
“This strike has effectively dismantled its central command while paving the way for the complete annihilation of the group,” he stated.
The NSA added that security forces recovered caches of materials and digital evidence during the operation, which are now undergoing forensic analysis.
He said findings from the analysis would strengthen ongoing efforts to dismantle the group’s remnants and disrupt its foreign collaborations.
“This success demonstrates the growing capacity of our security agencies to confront terrorism with precision and coordination,” Ribadu said, while appealing to citizens to remain vigilant and continue providing timely intelligence to security authorities.
