DSS Secures 15-Year Jail Term for Ansaru Leader Over Illegal Mining
The Department of State Services (DSS) has secured the conviction of a top commander of the proscribed Ansaru terrorist group, Mahmud Muhammed Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a or Abbas Mukhtar, who was on Thursday sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Federal High Court in Abuja for engaging in illegal mining.
Usman, a native of Okene in Kogi State, was arrested in a covert DSS operation earlier this year and arraigned alongside another Ansaru commander, Abubakar Abba, also called Isah Adam or Mahmud Al-Nigeri, from Daura in Katsina State.
The duo faced 32 counts bordering on terrorism, kidnapping, illegal mining, attacks on military formations, and alleged links with foreign jihadist groups in Mali.
During Thursday’s proceedings, Usman pleaded guilty to count 10 on illegal mining, a crime prosecutors said was used to fund terrorist activities. Presiding judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, convicted him and sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
Abba, however, pleaded not guilty to all charges, and his trial continues.
Court documents presented by the DSS detailed chilling accounts of the defendants’ activities between 2013 and 2025, including:
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High-profile kidnappings, such as the abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura, in 2019, alongside traditional rulers, Fulani leaders, security personnel, and civilians across Katsina, Niger, and Kebbi States, with ransom payments ranging from ₦1.5 million to ₦25 million.
Combat training in Mali, where they reportedly trained with the Al-Qaeda-linked Jama’atu Nusratil Islam Wal Muslimin (JNIM) in the use of IEDs, arms handling, and guerrilla tactics.
Direct involvement in attacks, including the 2022 raid on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Niger State.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite emphasized that while the guilty plea covered only illegal mining, the allegations of terrorism underscored the gravity of the case.
Security analysts say the sentencing underscores both the DSS’s improved counter-terrorism operations and the judiciary’s growing readiness to prosecute terrorism-related cases head-on.
Ansaru, which splintered from Boko Haram in 2012, has resurged in parts of north-western Nigeria in recent years, exploiting banditry and illicit mining to fund operations while maintaining links with Al-Qaeda affiliates in the Sahel.
Nigeria has recently accelerated the prosecution of terror suspects, with the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), DSS, and the Ministry of Justice working together to fast-track trials in Niger and Borno States.
One counter-terrorism analyst remarked:
“The conviction of an Ansaru commander is not the endgame. It’s the beginning of a stronger fight against the enablers and financiers of terror in Nigeria.”
By PRNigeria
