The Department of State Services (DSS) has arraigned two senior commanders of Ansaru, a proscribed terrorist group, on a 32-count charge at the Federal High Court in Abuja.

The suspects are identified as Mahmud Usman, also known as Abu Bara’a Abbas or Mukhtar, and his deputy, Mahmud Al-Nigeri, popularly called Malam Mamuda.

According to court filings, the commanders allegedly orchestrated several high-profile terror attacks, including the 2022 assault on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Kainji, Niger State, that left heavy casualties. They are also accused of masterminding the July 2022 Kuje prison break that freed over 600 inmates.

Prosecutors further allege that the duo received weapons training, explosives fabrication skills, and tactical instruction from foreign jihadist groups. Mamuda, investigators say, trained in Libya between 2013 and 2015 under foreign instructors, while both men also received combat training in Mali.

Beyond the prison attack, the DSS links them to plots against a Niger uranium facility, multiple kidnappings including that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013 and the 2019 abduction of Alhaji Musa Umar Uba, Magajin Garin Daura. Several armed robberies are also listed among their alleged crimes.

National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu confirmed their arrest in a coordinated operation, describing Usman as the “self-styled Emir of Ansaru” and leader of several sleeper cells across Nigeria, while Mamuda allegedly served as his “chief of staff,” commanding the Mahmudawa cell near Kainji National Park.

Ansaru, which splintered from Boko Haram in 2012 in Kano, initially portrayed itself as a “humane alternative” before embarking on violent campaigns. The group adopted the logo of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), underscoring its global jihadist links. Ribadu said the arrests have “effectively dismantled” Ansaru’s central command.

In a related case, the DSS also arraigned Huzaifa Haruna in Plateau State for allegedly transporting seven M-16 rifles from Dogo village in Barkin Ladi to one Wakili Julde in Wase.