Two senior commanders of the proscribed terrorist group Ansaru, Mammuda and Abu Baraa, have pleaded guilty to a 32-count charge bordering on terrorism and kidnapping.
The Department of State Services (DSS) had arraigned the pair before the Federal High Court in Abuja in September 2025 over their alleged involvement in a series of terrorist attacks and kidnappings.
According to the charges, the suspects participated in the 2022 attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State, which resulted in multiple casualties.
They were also accused of receiving training in weapons handling, war tactics and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication at terrorist camps, including training in Mali. Security officials further alleged that Mammuda underwent specialised training in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors.
The DSS alleged that the two commanders masterminded the July 2022 attack on the Kuje Correctional Centre, during which more than 600 inmates escaped. They were also accused of planning the attack on the Niger uranium facility and carrying out several high-profile kidnappings, including the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp.
Other allegations against the suspects include the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura, as well as involvement in multiple armed robberies.
The arrest of the two men was announced in August 2025 by the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, who identified Abu Baraa as the self-styled Amir of Ansaru and Mammuda as his deputy and chief of staff.
According to Ribadu, Abu Baraa coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and masterminded several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terrorism.
He said Mammuda led the group’s “Mahmudawa” cell operating around Kainji National Park across Niger and Kwara states and into the Benin Republic, adding that he received specialised terrorist training in Libya between 2013 and 2015.
Ribadu stated that both men had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years and were linked to attacks on civilians, security personnel and critical infrastructure.
He said the suspects were responsible for the 2022 Kuje prison attack, the planned attack on the Niger uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, the 2019 kidnapping of the Magajin Garin Daura, and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
The NSA also alleged that the pair maintained operational links with terrorist groups across Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.
He described their arrest as one of the most significant breakthroughs in Nigeria’s counter-terrorism efforts, saying it dealt a decisive blow to Ansaru’s leadership.
Ansaru emerged in January 2012 as a splinter faction of Boko Haram, initially presenting itself as a more “humane” alternative before evolving into a terrorist group responsible for attacks on security forces, civilians and government facilities.
According to Ribadu, the group publicly adopted the logo of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), signalling its ideological and operational affiliation with the global jihadist network, and established sleeper cells in northern Nigerian cities as well as forest enclaves around Kainji National Park stretching into the Benin Republic.
