Court Convicts Ansaru Commander, Imposes 15-Year Jail Term

A commander of the Ansaru terrorist organization, Mahmud Usman, has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison following his arrest.

Usman was sentenced to jail on Thursday by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.

The trial judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, however, ordered the defendant to be remanded in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) pending his trial for thirty-one other charges preferred against him by the service.

The Ansaru commander had earlier pleaded guilty to the charge of illegal mining activities, which enabled him to acquire arms for terrorism and kidnapping purposes.

In a thirty-two-count charge filed before the Federal High Court, Usman and Abubakar Abba were alleged to have committed acts of terrorism sometime in 2022 by attacking Wawa Cantonment of the Nigerian Army in Kainji, New Bussa, Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State, leading to the death of several innocent citizens and residents.

They are also alleged to have received training in weapons handling and fabrication of improvised explosive devices (IED) from various terrorist camps.

They were also accused of receiving training in war tactics from a terrorist organization in Mali.

Justice Nwite fixed the 21st of October for the trial.

Among other charges, the DSS accused the suspects of masterminding the July 2022 Kuje prison attack, which led to the escape of more than 600 inmates.

They also allegedly planned the Niger uranium facility attack and multiple kidnappings, including that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013.

Apart from that, they also committed other alleged crimes, including the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura, and several armed robberies.