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From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
The Abuja division of the Federal High Court has convicted and sentenced Mahmud Usman, a commander of the proscribed Ansaru sect, to 15 years in prison for terrorism-related offences.
Usman, (commonly known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas, or Mukhtar), pleaded guilty to charges of engaging in illegal mining and using the proceeds to procure arms for terrorist and kidnapping operations, upon his arraignment.
Bara’a, who hails from Okene Local Government,Kogi State, and Abubakar Abba (aka Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri), who hail from Daura, Katsina State, were arraigned by the Department of State Service (DSS) on 32 counts of terrorism and related offences.
However, Bara’a, who is the first defendant, pleaded guilty to Count 10, which was on illegal mining. The presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, consequently convicted him of the crime and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
The second alleged Ansaru Commander, Abubakar Abba, who was arraigned alongside the convict however, denied the economic sabotage offence.
In his judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered that the convict remain in the custody of the DSS pending trial on 31 other counts filed against him.
Usman, the self styled “Emir of Ansaru,” appeared in court alongside his deputy and chief of staff, Mahmud al-Nigeri, popularly called Malam Mamuda.
Both men face a 32-count indictment accusing them of leading a terrorist organisation, financing its activities, recruiting fighters, and coordinating violent attacks across Nigeria.
Security agencies linked Ansaru militants to several high-profile attacks, including the July 2022 raid on Kuje Prison in Abuja, where more than 600 inmates, including 64 Boko Haram suspects, escaped.
They were also accused of the 2022 attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Niger State, which left many casualties.
National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu had described Usman as “the coordinator of terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to fund terrorism.”
Mamuda, his deputy, was said to have trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors, specialising in weapons handling and improvised explosive device (IED) fabrication.
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The duo have also been linked to the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, the 2019 kidnapping of Musa Uba (Magajin Garin Daura), and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.
At the arraignment proceedings, the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation, Mohammed Babadoko Abubakar alleged in the charges that the two defendants committed the crime between 2015 and 2024
Among others, they were accused of bombing Wawa Military Cantonment in Borgu LG ,Niger State, receiving training in weapon handling and fabrication of improvised explosive devices.
The security agency alleged that they belonged to foreign terror groups, engaged terrorism financing, kidnapping and receiving training on war tactic from a terrorising organization in Mali.
In another charges, DSS accused them of kidnapping a Custom officer and another Immigration Officer,who was killed while in their custody.
The Secret Police claimed that the accused persons collected ransom running into millions of naira from families of their victims before the long arms of the DSS captured them. Similarly, they were accused of engaging in unlawful mining of mineral resources without valid license from which they also made millions of naira.
One of the charges by DSS against the two defendants is that the huge sums made from kidnapping ransom and unlawful minerals mining were deployed to the procurement of huge arms and ammunitions including improvised explosive devices.
The DSS further alleged that the two men received training on terrorism and war tactics in Sudan and Mali and also facilitated same for their followers. In another charge, they were accused of concealing information on terror attacks on various locations in Niger State.
Following their denial of the charges, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered them to remanded at the DSS facility in Abuja.
The Judge fixed October for commencement of their trial.
In another charge, an alleged gunrunner, Hucaifa Haruna,was slammed with 5-count charge by DSS before the same Judge. The accused person ,however, pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was also ordered to be remanded at the DSS facility pending his trial on October 17.
The two terror commanders were apprehended in a recent operation by a joint security team in a forest location.
