U.S., UK laud Nigeria over arrest of wanted terrorist leaders

U.S. and British authorities have praised the Nigerian government and its security forces for successfully arresting two leaders of the Ansaru terrorist group.

The U.S. and the British authorities issued the commendations yesterday in separate tweets on X (formerly Twitter).
The arrests of the Ansaru terrorist leaders were confirmed following an announcement by the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu.

According to Ribadu, the leaders of Jama’atuAnsarulMuslimina fi-Biladis Sudan, commonly known as Ansaru, were captured in a “high-risk, intelligence-led, counter-terrorism operation” conducted between May and July 2025.

He said Mahmud Muhammad Usman, identified as the self-styled Emir of Ansaru, was the coordinator of various terrorist sleeper cells across Nigeria and the mastermind of numerous high-profile kidnappings and armed robberies used to finance the group’s operations. Newspaper subscription bundles

Ribadu added that his Deputy, Mahmud al-Nigeri, led the group’s “Mahmudawa” cell, which operates around the Kainji National Park area, a region straddling Niger and Kwara states and extending into the Benin Republic.

In a post via its official X handle yesterday, the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria praised the arrests of the terrorist leaders and described the successful operation as a win in Nigeria’s quest to end terrorism.