The United States has praised Nigeria’s security forces for apprehending two key leaders of the al-Qaeda-linked terror group Ansaru, marking a major blow to terrorism in the region.
In a statement posted on its official X handle on Monday, the U.S. Mission in Nigeria hailed the arrests as “a significant step forward in the country’s fight against terrorism and extremism.” The mission stated, “We commend the Nigerian government and security forces on the successful arrest of wanted Ansaru leaders, Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda). This is a significant step forward in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and extremism.”
The arrests, announced last week by National Security Adviser Malam Nuhu Ribadu, followed intelligence-led operations conducted between May and July. Ribadu revealed that Usman, the self-proclaimed Emir of Ansaru, orchestrated terror sleeper cells nationwide and masterminded kidnappings and robberies to finance the group’s activities.
Ribadu linked the duo to several high-profile attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break in Abuja, which freed numerous Boko Haram inmates, the 2013 assault on a uranium facility in Niger Republic, the kidnapping of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, the 2019 abduction of Musa Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and the kidnapping of the Emir of Wawa in Niger State.
The operations also disrupted Ansaru’s central command structure, with security forces recovering critical digital and material intelligence, now under analysis, according to Ribadu.