US commends Nigeria over arrest of top Ansaru terrorist leaders

The U.S. Mission Nigeria has commended the Nigerian government and its security forces for the successful arrest of two wanted leaders of the terrorist group, Ansaru.

The arrests of the Ansaru terrorist leaders were confirmed following an announcement by Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, who described the operation as a major breakthrough in the country’s fight against extremism.

In a post on its official X handle on Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria praised the arrests of Mahmud Muhammad Usman (also known as Abu Bara’a) and Mahmud al-Nigeri (also known as Mallam Mamuda).

“This is a significant forward in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism and extremism,” the post read.

The arrests were first revealed by Onanuga, who cited a briefing by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

According to Ribadu, the leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, commonly known as Ansaru, were captured in a “high-risk, intelligence-led, counter-terrorism operation” conducted between May and July 2025.

Mahmud Muhammad Usman, identified as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, was described as the coordinator of various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of numerous high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance the group’s operations.

His deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, led the group’s “Mahmudawa” cell, which operates around the Kainji National Park area, a region straddling Niger and Kwara States and extending into the Benin Republic.

The arrest of the two men, who had been on both Nigeria’s and international most-wanted lists for years, marks a significant achievement in the nation’s ongoing battle against insurgency.

The Ansaru group, a splinter faction of Boko Haram, has claimed responsibility for several high-profile attacks in the past, including the 2022 brazen jailbreak at the Kuje medium-security prison and the ambush on a Kaduna-Abuja train.

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