The Department of State Services (DSS) on Thursday arraigned two senior commanders of the proscribed terrorist group, Ansaru, before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The suspects, identified as Mahmud Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a Abbas/Mukhtar) and his deputy, Mahmud Al-Nigeri (also called Malam Mamuda), are facing a 32-count terrorism charge filed by the Federal Government.
They were brought into the courtroom around 9:09 a.m., shortly after DSS operatives mounted heavy security checkpoints around the court complex on Shehu Shagari Expressway. Journalists were initially barred from entering, while broadcast crews were prevented from using recording equipment. A few reporters were later allowed in under strict security supervision.
According to the charges, the defendants are accused of:
- Attacking the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State, in 2022, leading to mass casualties.
- Receiving training in weapons handling, war tactics, and improvised explosive devices (IED) fabrication from terrorist camps in Mali and Libya.
- Masterminding the July 2022 Kuje prison jailbreak, which freed over 600 inmates.
- Planning an attack on Niger’s uranium facility.
- Orchestrating several high-profile kidnappings, including that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013 and Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, in 2019.
Security officials allege that Mamuda trained under foreign jihadist instructors in Libya between 2013 and 2015.
The DSS said the commanders were captured following a multi-agency, intelligence-led operation conducted between May and July 2025. Their arrests were first confirmed in August by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.
The case, filed on September 4, 2025, by the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation, M.B. Abubakar, is being prosecuted on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN.
One of the charges accuses the duo of conspiring to form and lead Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan (Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria, between 2013 and 2015.
Justice Emeka Nwite presided over the proceedings.
