Crime
PHOTOS: FG announces arrest of Kuje prison break masterminds and top Al-Qaeda affiliate leaders
The Federal Government has announced the arrest of two top leaders of Jama’atu Ansarul Muslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Nigeria.
The National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, who disclosed this at a press briefing held at the Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja on Saturday, August 16, 2025, said the arrest was made following a months-long counter-terrorism operation.
Ribadu said the intelligence-led operation was carried out between May and July 2025 in collaboration with security and intelligence agencies.
Those arrested are Mahmud Muhammad Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a, Abbas or Mukhtar, identified as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, and his deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, also known as Mallam Mamuda.
According to Ribadu, Abu Bara coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and masterminded high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies to finance terrorism.
He added that his deputy, Mamuda, led the “Mahmudawa” cell around Kainji National Park and trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors.
“The targeted operation, which was conducted between May and July 2025, led to the capture of two top ANSARU leaders who have been responsible for masterminding several terrorist attacks against Nigeria over the past years. The first is Mahmud Muhammad Usman (aka Abu Bara’a/Abbas/Mukhtar), the self-styled Emir of ANSARU,” he said.
“He is the coordinator of various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria. He is also the mastermind of several high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance terrorism over the years.
“The second is Mahmud al-Nigeri (aka Mallam Mamuda), Abu Bara’s proclaimed Chief of Staff and Deputy. He is the leader of the so-called “Mahmudawa” cell hiding out in and around the Kainji National Park, straddling Niger and Kwara States up to the Benin Republic. Mamuda trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign jihadist instructors from Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria, specialising in weapons handling and IED fabrication.”
FG announces arrest of Kuje prison break masterminds and top Al-Qaeda affiliate leaders
The NSA said the two men had been on Nigeria’s most-wanted list for years and were also internationally wanted.
Ribadu said the suspects were responsible for attacks including the 2022 Kuje prison break, the attack on Niger’s uranium facility, the 2013 abduction of French engineer Francis Collomp, and the 2019 kidnapping of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura.
“They were also behind the abduction of the Emir of Wawa and they maintain active links with terrorist groups across the Maghreb, particularly in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. d The two men, who are wanted internationally, are currently in custody, ” Ribadu added.
The NSA stated that their capture dismantled Ansaru’s central command structure and marked a significant achievement in Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
He added that security forces recovered materials and digital evidence during the operation, which are undergoing forensic analysis.
“This strike has effectively dismantled its central command while paving the path for the complete annihilation of the group. 8. Let me use this opportunity to inform the public that, in the course of the operation, our security forces captured and recovered valuable actionable intelligence,” the NSA said.
“These include a cache of materials and digital evidence which are all now undergoing forensic analysis. The findings from the analysis are expected to support our ongoing efforts to exploit this success, bring them to justice, and completely bring them to justice, and completely annihilate the remnants of ANSARU networks and disrupt their foreign collaborators.”
Ribadu also called on citizens to remain vigilant and provide timely information to authorities.
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The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared a businessman and son-in-law of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Abdullahi Bashir Haske, wanted over an alleged case of criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
In a notice issued by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC urged members of the public with helpful information about Haske’s whereabouts to report to the nearest police station or any of the commission’s offices nationwide.
“The public is hereby notified that ABDULLAHI BASHIR HASKE, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Criminal Conspiracy and Money Laundering.”
Haske, 38, whose photograph was released by the anti-graft agency, was last known to reside at No. 6 Mosley Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, and 952/953 Idejo Street, Victoria Island, Lagos State.
The EFCC appealed to Nigerians to assist in tracking him down by providing credible information through its offices in major cities, including Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, and Abuja.
They noted that useful information about his thereabouts could be shared via the commission’s telephone line, or email address.
See the notice below
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Crime
PHOTOS: 14 children ‘trafficked from Adamawa and sold for N800,000 each in Anambra’ are rescued
14 children trafficked from Adamawa State and sold in Anambra State for amounts ranging from N800,000 to N1.7 million have been rescued by Adamawa State Government.
On Wednesday, August 20, the Adamawa State government reunited the rescued children with their parents at a ceremony in Yola, the Adamawa state capital.
Speaking during the ceremony, Kaletapwa George Farauta, Adamawa deputy governor, said after numerous reports of missing children in July, the government set up a joint operation with security agencies to unravel the situation.
Farauta said the operation led to the arrest of one Ngozi Abdulwahab, a suspected trafficking kingpin, who operates a small provision shop in Jambutu Ward, Yola north LGA.
The deputy governor said the suspect reportedly used snacks and gifts to lure children between the ages of 4-9 before trafficking them to Anambra.
14 children ?trafficked from Adamawa and sold for N800,000 each in Anambra? are rescued
“It is a mixed feeling of sadness and joy, it is sad that today, Adamawa is on the map of an unfortunate monster ravaging the nation, the monster of child trafficking,” she said.
“This is a story we often hear happening far away, but unfortunately, it has caught up with us.
“This notorious trafficker has perfected the art of trafficking minors aged four to nine years from various communities in Adamawa to the south-eastern region of Nigeria.
“There, she sold the victims for paltry sums ranging from N800,000 to N1.7 million per child.
“She operated from a small provision shop which she owned at Jambutu ward, Yola-North LGA, where she used snacks and gifts to lure unsuspecting children.
“Today, we have rescued 14 children and rehabilitated them.”
The deputy governor said the suspects would be prosecuted under the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act 2015, Adamawa Child Protection Law (2008), the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law 2021, and the Penal Code of the state.
She added that the family of each rescued child would receive N100,000, food, and non-food items.
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