Nigeria’s security forces have arrested Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar, leader of the Ansaru terrorist group, alongside his deputy, Abubakar Abba, also called Mahmud al-Nigeri (Mallam Mahmuda). Both men are accused of masterminding several high-profile terrorist attacks across the country.
National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu announced the arrests on Saturday at a special press briefing held at the National Counter-Terrorism Centre in Abuja. Flanked by service chiefs and intelligence heads, Ribadu described the capture as a landmark achievement.
“I am glad to inform you that we have successfully concluded a high-risk, intelligence-led counter-terrorism operation which led to the capture of the top leadership of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, commonly known as Ansaru, Nigeria’s Al-Qaeda affiliate,” Ribadu said.
According to him, the operation conducted between May and July 2025 after months of surveillance represents “the most decisive blow against Ansaru since its inception.”
Founded in 2012 as a Boko Haram splinter group, Ansaru initially projected itself as a “humane alternative” before launching deadly attacks on security forces, civilians, and critical infrastructure. Over the years, it entrenched itself in northern cities and forest strongholds, particularly around Kainji National Park, stretching into Niger and Kwara states and the Benin Republic.
Ribadu identified Abu Bara’a as the “self-styled Emir of Ansaru,” who coordinated sleeper cells, kidnappings, and funding operations through armed robberies. His deputy, Mahmuda, reportedly trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specializing in weapons handling and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication.
The NSA linked the duo to major incidents including the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on the 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. He added that Ansaru maintained active ties with jihadist networks in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.
“This stride has effectively dismantled its central command while paving the path for the complete annihilation of the group,” Ribadu declared, adding that valuable materials and digital evidence were recovered and are undergoing forensic analysis.
Minister of Information Mohammed Idris, alongside presidential aides Bayo Onanuga and Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, urged Nigerians to support security agencies with timely intelligence.
The arrests mark the biggest breakthrough against Ansaru since 2016, when the military captured its former leader, Khalid al-Barnawi, who had been designated a global terrorist by the United States in 2012 alongside Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau and Ansaru founder Abubakar Adam Kambar.
