FG Unveils Sh*cking Details Of How Ansaru, Al-Qaeda Kingpins Were Captured

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, on Friday announced that the Federal Government has successfully captured two globally wanted terrorist leaders.

The suspects, Amir Mahmud Mohammed Usman, widely known as Abu Baraa, and his deputy, Amir Marmuda, were apprehended during a special intelligence-led operation.

According to Ribadu, the two men are top commanders of the Ansaru Terrorist Organisation—formally known as Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan—an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria, as well as leaders of the Mahmudawa terrorist network.

Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, Ribadu revealed that the arrests were the outcome of a two-month coordinated security operation between May and July 2025.

He described Abu Baraa as the “self-styled Emir of ANSARU,” responsible for coordinating multiple sleeper cells across Nigeria and masterminding several high-profile kidnappings and robberies that financed terrorism. His deputy, Mamuda, trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors and specialized in weapons handling and IED fabrication.

Both men, long listed on Nigeria’s most-wanted list, have been linked to numerous attacks, including the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on the Niger uranium facility, and several high-profile kidnappings, such as the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp and the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba.

Ribadu emphasized that the capture of the two terrorists marks a historic breakthrough in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism, effectively crippling the leadership structure of ANSARU and paving the way for its dismantling.

“This is one of the most significant counter-terrorism victories in Nigeria’s history,” the NSA declared.