The security personnel have detained two senior officials of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan (Ansaru), a Nigerian affiliate of Al-Qaeda.
The self-proclaimed Emir of Ansaru, Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas, or Mukhtar, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Mallam Mamuda, were detained.
The suspected terrorists were taken into custody after a months-long counterterrorism operation, according to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, who made this announcement during a press briefing on Saturday at the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja.
According to him, the intelligence-led operation was conducted in cooperation with security and intelligence services from May to July 2025.
Abu Bara orchestrated terrorist sleeper cells throughout the nation and planned well-publicized kidnappings and armed robberies in order to fund terrorism, Ribadu claimed.
He also mentioned that Mamuda, his deputy, trained under foreign jihadist instructors in Libya from 2013 to 2015 and was the leader of the “Mahmudawa” cell in the Kainji National Park area.
“The targeted operation, which took place between May and July 2025, resulted in the capture of two senior ANSARU leaders who were in charge of planning multiple terrorist attacks against Nigeria in recent years,” Ribadu stated. The first is the self-proclaimed Emir of ANSARU, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas, or Mukhtar).
He is in charge of organising several terrorist sleeper cells in Nigeria.
Over the years, he has also been the mastermind behind a number of well-publicized kidnappings and armed robberies that have been used to fund terrorism.
The second is Abu Bara’s declared Deputy and Chief of Staff, Mahmud al-Nigeri (also known as Mallam Mamuda). He is the head of the infamous “Mahmudawa” cell, which operates in and around Kainji National Park, which crosses the borders of Niger, Kwara, and Benin Republic. Mamuda received instruction in weapons handling and IED construction from foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria in Libya from 2013 to 2015.
According to the NSA, the two men had been wanted both globally and in Nigeria for years. He claimed that the suspects were behind the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on the uranium site in Niger, the 2013 kidnapping of French engineer Francis Collomp, and the 2019 kidnapping of Magajin Garin Daura and Alhaji Musa Umar Uba.
Additionally, they were responsible for the kidnapping of the Emir of Wawa and have strong ties to terrorist organisations throughout the Maghreb, especially in Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali. The two men are presently in custody and are wanted on a global scale, Ribadu continued.
According to the NSA, their seizure was a major victory in Nigeria’s war on terrorism and destroyed Ansaru’s central command structure. Additionally, Ribadu urged people to stay alert and notify authorities in a timely manner.
