I just learned that after months of painstaking intelligence work, authorities have apprehended Mahmud Muhammad Usman, the self-styled “Emir of Ansaru,” and his deputy Mahmud al-Nigeri, known as Malam Mahmuda, the man behind the Mahmuda terrorist group that has been tormenting my people in Borgu, a geo-cultural space that stretches from Kebbi through Niger and northern Kwara and spills into northern and central Benin Republic.
Their arrest has effectively dismantled the command structure of the al-Qaeda-linked Ansaru group, notorious for audacious kidnappings, attacks, and terror campaigns across northern Nigeria.
This is personal to me on so many levels. A major news organization has asked me to investigate and write on the so-called Mahmuda group that operates in Borgu. In my inquiries from my folks back home, I found that no one even knew what the “Mahmud” whose name the group bears looked like.
The mystery surrounding him, and the fear he inspires, left me with more questions than answers.
Even worse, it always tore me apart when, instead of providing me with the information I sought to write my article, people I spoke with pleaded for my help in containing the terrorists. They assumed that my relative national visibility meant I could reach government officials who might intervene.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. So, I felt helpless in the face of the dire desperation and helplessness of my people, which is why this breakthrough is especially heartwarming for me.
National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu deserves enormous credit for the quiet, deliberate, intelligence-driven operation that led to this victory.
He worked with our armed forces and intelligence agencies to deliver one of Nigeria’s most consequential counter-terrorism successes. In a climate where victories against terror often feel fleeting, this achievement stands out.
That Ribadu and his team have now captured these men is profoundly reassuring. For the people of Borgu, who have lived under the shadow of this threat for months, there is reason to breathe a little easier today.
Terror will not vanish overnight, but this is a turning point. It’s a visible, heartening crack in the wall of impunity that these blood-sucking monsters of depravity had built for themselves.
Of course, there is still so much more work to be done. Our country remains vulnerable, the bloodthirsty lieutenants of these homicidal beasts are still out and about, and true security will require sustained effort, vigilance, and justice.
But when a decisive blow like this is struck against those who prey on innocent lives, we must acknowledge it. Today, I join countless others in saluting this victory and in hoping that it marks the beginning of more to come.