The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, has announced the arrest of two men identified as leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group.

Speaking at a press briefing on security developments at the Office of the National Security Adviser, Ribadu named those arrested as Abu Baraa, the group’s Amir, and Mahmuda, its deputy Amir.

According to him, the suspects have been at the centre of several terrorist operations in Nigeria, including high-profile kidnappings.

Present at the briefing were the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Minister of Information and National Orientation.

Ribadu said: “The first is Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled Emir of Ansaru. He coordinated numerous terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and masterminded several kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terrorism over the years.

He added: The second is Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda), Abu Bara’s proclaimed Chief of Staff and deputy. He led the so-called Mahmudawa cell operating in and around Kainji National Park, which stretches across Niger and Kwara states into the Benin Republic. Mamuda trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in weapons handling and IED fabrication.”

The NSA said both men had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years, spearheading multiple attacks on civilians, security forces, and critical infrastructure. Their operations, he noted, included the 2022 Kuje jailbreak, the attack on the Niger uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp in Katsina, and the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, the Magajin Garin Daura.

He stated: “They were also behind the abduction of the Emir of Wawa and maintained active links with terrorist groups across the Maghreb, particularly in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. The two men, who are wanted internationally, are currently in custody.

“The capture of Abu Bara and Mallam Mamuda marks one of the most significant achievements in our ongoing effort to rid Nigeria of terrorism. The successful removal of the group’s leadership is the most decisive blow against Ansaru since its inception,” Ribadu said.

He added that the arrests had “effectively dismantled” the group’s central command and paved the way for its complete eradication.

Ansaru, a splinter faction from Boko Haram, first emerged in January 2012 in Kano, presenting itself as a “humane alternative.” However, it soon turned to attacking security operatives, civilian communities, and government infrastructure. The group also adopted the setting-sun logo of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), signalling its ideological and operational alignment with global jihadist networks.

Over time, Ansaru entrenched itself through sleeper cells in northern cities and forest enclaves, particularly around Kainji National Park, operating across Niger and Kwara states as well as into the Benin Republic.