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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Thursday sentenced Mahmud Usman, a commander of the proscribed terrorist group Ansaru, to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to engaging in illegal mining operations.
Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled that Usman’s mining activities were carried out to fund terrorism and kidnapping. The judge ordered that he remain in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) pending trial on 31 other terrorism-related charges.
“The convict has admitted guilt. The sentence of this court is 15 years’ imprisonment,” Justice Nwite declared.
The matter was adjourned to October 21 for continuation of trial.
Usman and another defendant, Abubakar Abba, are being prosecuted on a 32-count charge filed by the DSS. Prosecutors alleged that the two men, in 2022, coordinated several terrorist operations, including the attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, New Bussa, Niger State, which left many soldiers dead.
They were also accused of masterminding the July 2022 Kuje Prison attack, during which more than 600 inmates escaped.
According to the charges, Usman and Abba allegedly received training in weapons handling and bomb-making at terrorist camps in Nigeria and abroad, and also underwent advanced war tactics training from a terrorist group based in Mali.
The Federal Government further linked them to plans to attack a uranium facility in Niger Republic, a series of kidnappings including that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013 and the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura as well as several armed robberies.
The conviction marks the first in a series of terrorism cases against Usman, with prosecutors describing him as a “key financier and operational commander of Ansaru’s terror network.”