A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday convicted and sentenced Mahmud Usman, a commander of the proscribed terrorist group Ansaru, to 15 years in prison.
The Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned Usman, who pleaded guilty to engaging in illegal mining to fund the purchase of arms for terrorism and kidnapping. Justice Emeka Nwite ordered him to remain in DSS custody while facing trial on 31 additional charges.
According to a 32-count charge, Usman and Abubakar Abba attacked Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in Niger State in 2022, causing mass casualties. They allegedly trained in weapons handling, improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication, and war tactics at terrorist camps in Nigeria and Mali.
The DSS also accuses the commanders of masterminding the July 2022 Kuje prison break, plotting an attack on a Niger uranium facility, and carrying out multiple kidnappings, including the abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013 and Magajin Garin Daura, Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, in 2019.
National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu confirmed their arrest after coordinated security operations, describing Usman as the “self-styled Emir of Ansaru” who oversaw sleeper cells nationwide, with his aide Mamuda leading the “Mahmudawa” faction near Kainji National Park.
Ansaru, which split from Boko Haram, first emerged in Kano in January 2012.