JUST-IN: Court Jails Ansaru Commander 15 Years Over Illegal Mining

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced Mahmud Usman, a commander of the proscribed terrorist group, Ansaru to 15 years in prison for illegal mining activities used to finance terrorism.

Justice Emeka Nwite, who delivered the judgment, held that Usman’s mining operations directly aided the acquisition of arms for terrorism and kidnapping.

The court, however, ordered his continued custody with the Department of State Services (DSS) as he still faces 31 other terrorism-related charges.

Usman was arraigned alongside Abubakar Abba in a 32-count charge over accusations of launching terrorist attacks in 2022, including the deadly assault on Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in New Bussa, Niger State, which led to mass casualties.

The prosecution further alleged that the defendants received training in weapons handling and in the fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) from terrorist camps.

They were also said to have acquired war tactics training from a terrorist organisation in Mali.

According to the DSS, Usman and his associates masterminded the July 2022 Kuje prison attack, where more than 600 inmates were freed.

They also allegedly planned to attack the Niger uranium facility and carried out multiple kidnappings, including the abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013.

In addition, the suspected terrorists were accused of orchestrating the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura, and committing several armed robberies across the country.

Justice Nwite fixed October 21 for the continuation of the terrorism trial.

Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, recently confirmed the arrest of the terrorist organisation’s commanders, attributing their arrests to coordinated security operations.

Ribadu identified Usman as the “self-styled Emir of Ansaru” and “coordinator of several terrorist sleeper cells across the country.”

He added that Usman worked closely with his associate Mamuda, whom he described as his “Chief of Staff,” leading the “Mahmudawa cell” around Kainji National Park.

Ansaru, a splinter group from Boko Haram, emerged in Kano in 2012 and has since been responsible for numerous terrorist attacks and kidnappings across Nigeria.