Court Sentences Ansaru Commander to 15 Years for Terror-Linked Illegal Mining
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced Mahmud Usman, a senior commander of the banned Ansaru terrorist group, to 15 years in prison.
Justice Emeka Nwite delivered the ruling on Thursday after Usman pleaded guilty to charges related to illegal mining — an activity prosecutors said was used to fund terrorism and kidnapping operations.
Following the conviction, the court ordered that Usman remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) as he still faces 31 additional terrorism-related charges. His trial on those counts is scheduled to resume on October 21.
Usman is being prosecuted alongside another suspect, Abubakar Abba. Both men are standing trial on a 32-count indictment filed by the DSS.
According to federal prosecutors, Usman and Abba were responsible for a number of high-profile terrorist acts, including the deadly 2022 assault on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, New Bussa, within Niger State’s Borgu Local Government Area.
They are also accused of orchestrating the July 2022 jailbreak at Kuje Correctional Facility, which led to the escape of over 600 inmates.
The charge sheet further alleges that the two suspects underwent advanced training in weapons handling and the construction of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at terrorist training camps. They were also reportedly trained in guerrilla warfare tactics by a terror network operating out of Mali.
Among other alleged crimes are plans to attack a uranium site in Niger Republic, involvement in multiple high-profile kidnappings — including the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp and the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura — as well as several armed robberies.
