Nigeria: Major blow to Ansaru and Mahmuda

On August 16, 2025, Nigerian security forces dealt a significant blow to Islamist militancy by arresting two key leaders:

• Mahmud Muhammad Usman, the head of Ansaru, an Al-Qaeda affiliate;
• Mahmud al-Nigeri, the founder of the emerging group Mahmuda.

Both men, on Nigeria’s most-wanted list, were linked to high-profile operations such as the 2022 Kuje prison attack and the 2013 kidnapping of French engineer Francis Collomp.
According to National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, their arrest was the result of months of intelligence-gathering and international cooperation.

This double capture is both symbolic and operational: Ansaru is deprived of its historic leader, while Mahmuda, still in its early stages, loses its founder. The arrests demonstrate improved intelligence collection and operational coordination against militant structures.
The key question now is whether these groups can reorganize under new leadership or whether they will enter a period of strategic disarray.