The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has described the conviction of Ansaru commander Mahmud Usman as a “major victory” in Nigeria’s fight against illegal mining and its role in financing terrorism.
On Thursday, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sentenced Usman to 15 years in prison and ordered his remand to face 31 additional terrorism-related charges.
In a statement, Alake commended the judiciary for aligning with government efforts to dismantle criminal networks that exploit Nigeria’s mineral resources.
“It is gratifying that the judiciary is in sync with the ministry’s zero-tolerance stance on illegal mining. This verdict confirms that bandits use illegal mining to bankroll their activities. The noose around such criminalities will only tighten, as more drastic measures will soon be announced,” Alake said.
The minister revealed that his ministry would closely track the ongoing terrorism trials of other Ansaru commanders, stressing the need for regulators to draw lessons from the cases to boost enforcement capacity in the mining sector.
He also applauded the Department of State Services (DSS) for its role in tracking, arresting, and prosecuting the terrorists.
“We will deepen inter-agency collaboration and intensify surveillance to rid our communities of illegal mining by bandits,” he added.
Ansaru—short for Vanguard for the Protection of Muslims in Black Africa—has been linked to several high-profile terrorist attacks, including the 2022 Kuje Prison raid and the assault on the Nigerian Army’s Wawa Cantonment.
The conviction comes against the backdrop of reforms in the solid minerals sector. In 2024, Alake launched the Mining Marshals, a special security unit tasked with safeguarding mineral-rich zones and cutting off terror groups from illicit mining revenues.
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