Nigeria to Prosecute Al-Qaeda-Linked Ansaru Commanders September 11
The Federal Government is set to arraign two top commanders of the Ansaru terrorist group, an Al-Qaeda-linked network, before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday, September 11, 2025.
The accused—Mahmud Muhammed Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar) and his deputy, Abubakar Abba (popularly called Mahmud Al-Nigeri or Isah Adam/Mallam Mamuda)—will face Justice Emeka Nwite on a 32-count terrorism charge.
According to court filings (FHC/ABJ/CR/464/2025) dated September 4, the charges were filed by the Director of Public Prosecutions, M.B. Abubakar, on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Prosecutors allege that between 2013 and 2015, the men conspired to serve as senior commanders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimeena Fii Bilaadis Sudan (JAMBS/Ansaru), a proscribed terrorist organisation in Nigeria. They are further accused of aiding terrorism, receiving weapons and explosives training from Mali-based Jama’atu Nusratil Islami Wal Muslimin (JNIM), and participating in the 2022 attack on Wawa Cantonment in Niger State, which left scores dead.
Security agencies captured the suspects between May and July 2025 in intelligence-led operations. Their arrest was first announced on August 16 by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who noted that both men had long been on national and international terror watchlists.
Ansaru, a splinter group of Boko Haram, is notorious for orchestrating high-profile kidnappings and attacks across Nigeria.
