BREAKING: Court Jails Captured Ansaru Leader 15 Years For Illegal Mining

A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced a senior leader of the proscribed Ansaru terrorist group, Mahmud Muhammed Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, to 15 years in prison for illegal mining.

Usman, from Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, was arrested earlier this year in a covert operation by the Department of State Services (DSS). He was arraigned alongside another top Ansaru commander, Abubakar Abba, also known as Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri, from Daura, Katsina State.

The DSS charged both men with 32 counts bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, illegal mining, and ties with foreign jihadist groups in Mali. While Usman admitted guilt to count 10 on illegal mining under the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act, 2022, Abba pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Presiding Judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, convicted Usman on Thursday, stressing that the guilty plea did not erase the severity of the other allegations. He subsequently handed down the 15-year sentence.

Court filings revealed a chilling history of crimes attributed to the duo between 2013 and 2025. These included kidnappings-for-ransom of high-profile figures, among them Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, in 2019, as well as traditional rulers, Fulani leaders, security officials, and civilians across Katsina, Niger, and Kebbi States, with ransom demands ranging from ?1.5 million to ?25 million. They were also said to have undergone combat training in Mali with Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’atu Nusratil Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM), mastering explosives, guerrilla tactics, and weapons handling. Both men were further accused of participating in the 2022 attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in New Bussa, Niger State, which left multiple casualties.

Usman admitted to overseeing illegal mining operations used to finance Ansaru’s terror activities — a crime that ultimately sealed his conviction. Analysts say the ruling highlights two critical shifts in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism landscape: the DSS’s improved capacity to capture and prosecute extremist leaders, and a judiciary increasingly ready to handle complex terrorism cases.

Once seen as a weakened offshoot of Boko Haram, Ansaru has resurged in north-western Nigeria, exploiting banditry and illicit mining to fund its network while maintaining ties with Al-Qaeda affiliates in the Sahel. Nigeria has recently intensified prosecutions of terror suspects, with the Office of the National Security Adviser, DSS, and Ministry of Justice working to fast-track trials in Niger and Borno States.

As one counter-terrorism analyst observed: “The conviction of an Ansaru commander is not the endgame — it’s the beginning of a stronger fight against the enablers and financiers of terror in Nigeria.