A Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Mahmud Usman, a commander of the proscribed terrorist organization Ansaru, to fifteen years in prison. The Department of State Services (DSS) had arraigned Usman, who pleaded guilty to charges related to illegal mining activities that facilitated his acquisition of arms for terrorism and kidnapping.
Justice Emeka Nwite, the trial judge, ordered Usman to remain in DSS custody as he awaits trial for thirty-one additional charges against him.
Usman, alongside Abubakar Abba, faced a thirty-two count charge for acts of terrorism committed in 2022, including an attack on the Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in Kainji, New Bussa, Niger State, which resulted in mass casualties.
They are accused of receiving training in weapons handling and the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from various terrorist camps, as well as war tactics training from a terrorist organization in Mali.
Justice Nwite has scheduled the next trial date for October 21. The DSS alleges that Usman and his associates were behind the July 2022 Kuje prison attack that freed over 600 inmates and planned attacks on the Niger uranium facility, along with multiple kidnappings, including that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013.
In addition, they are implicated in other crimes, such as the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and several armed robberies. National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu confirmed the arrests, describing Usman as the “self-styled Emir of Ansaru” and a key coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria.
Ansaru emerged in January 2012 as a splinter faction from Boko Haram.
#terrorism #Ansaru #MahmudUsman #NigerState #DSS #KujePrisonAttack #illegalmining #Nigeria
