Court sentences Ansaru sect leader Mahmud Usman to 15 years in prison

A Federal High Court successful Abuja has convicted Mahmud Usman, a commandant of the proscribed Ansaru sect, and sentenced him to 15 years successful situation for terrorism-related offences.

Usman, besides known by his aliases Abu Bara’a, Abbas, oregon Mukhtar, pleaded blameworthy connected Thursday to charges of engaging successful amerciable mining and utilizing the proceeds to procure arms for violent and kidnapping operations.

Delivering judgment, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered that the convict stay successful the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) pending proceedings connected 31 different counts filed against him.

Usman, who styled himself arsenic the “Emir of Ansaru,” appeared successful tribunal alongside his lawman and main of staff, Mahmud al-Nigeri, popularly called Malam Mamuda. Both men look a 32-count indictment accusing them of starring a violent organisation, financing its activities, recruiting fighters, and coordinating convulsive attacks crossed Nigeria.

Authorities linked Ansaru militants to respective high-profile attacks, including the July 2022 raid connected Kuje Prison successful Abuja, wherever much than 600 inmates, including 64 Boko Haram suspects, escaped. 

They were besides accused of the 2022 onslaught connected the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment successful Niger State, which near galore casualties.

National Security Adviser (NSA) Nuhu Ribadu had described Usman arsenic “the coordinator of violent sleeper cells crossed Nigeria and the mastermind of respective high-profile kidnappings and equipped robberies utilized to money terrorism.”

Mamuda, his deputy, was said to person trained successful Libya betwixt 2013 and 2015 nether overseas jihadist instructors, specialising successful weapons handling and improvised explosive instrumentality (IED) fabrication.

The duo person besides been linked to the 2013 abduction of French technologist Francis Collomp, the 2019 kidnapping of Musa Uba (Magajin Garin Daura), and the abduction of the Emir of Wawa.

Vanguard News

The station Court sentences Ansaru sect person Mahmud Usman to 15 years successful prison appeared archetypal connected Vanguard News.