A Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday sentenced a senior commander of the proscribed terror group Ansaru, Mahmud Usman, to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to engaging in illegal mining to finance arms procurement for terrorism and kidnappings.

The Department of State Services (DSS) arraigned Usman, who admitted that proceeds from the illicit mining supported his terrorist activities. Justice Emeka Nwite handed down the sentence but ordered that the defendant remain in DSS custody pending his trial for 31 other terrorism-related charges.

According to court filings, Usman and his associate, Abubakar Abba, were accused of launching a deadly attack on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment in Niger State in 2022, resulting in mass casualties. The charges also alleged that both men received training in weapons handling, bomb-making and guerrilla tactics from camps in Nigeria and Mali.

The DSS further claims that the two commanders masterminded the July 2022 raid on Kuje prison near Abuja, which freed more than 600 inmates, including hardened extremists.

They are also suspected of plotting an assault on a uranium facility in Niger Republic and orchestrating multiple kidnappings, among them that of French engineer Francis Collomp in 2013 and the 2019 abduction of a prominent traditional ruler in Daura.

Justice Nwite adjourned the case until 21 October for continuation of trial on the remaining charges.

National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu recently confirmed the arrest of the commanders, describing Usman as the “self-styled Emir of Ansaru” who coordinated terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria. Ribadu said Usman’s deputy, known as Mamuda, led the “Mahmudawa” cell operating around Kainji National Park.

Ansaru emerged in 2012 as a splinter group from Boko Haram, and has been blamed for a series of high-profile kidnappings, ambushes and attacks on security forces.